A Curious Nature
by CondemnedForLife
Summary: For the Black-Lupin family, Forks is a second chance at life and at love for a group of war-damaged teenagers and their parents. Post-War. Harry/Jacob
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: **The Black-Lupin's attempt to give war damaged teenagers a second chance at life in Forks. Post-War. Harry/Jacob

**Pairings:** Jacob/Harry, Remus/Sirius, Seth/Draco, Embry/Theo, Hermione/Blaise, Ron/Neville.

**Category:** Harry Potter/Twilight

**Genre:** Romance/Family

**Rating:** M/NC-17

**Warnings:** Mature themes, slash, gay (male/male) relationships, some angst, drama, gay sex, crossover, canon for books one to four and AU after that.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or Twilight and make no profit from writing this story.

**Author's note: **So this is my first attempt at a HP/Twilight crossover! I'm nervous about it so let me know what you think. Also there are brief mentions of child abuse and rape in this chapter. Nothing graphic but just to give a warning all the same.

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Remus Lupin tightened his grip on the steering wheel in his hands when once again his view of the road was blocked by a large map. Sighing in frustration, the werewolf shoved the useless piece of paper in the direction of the passenger seat where one Sirius Black was eagerly reading it.

"Sirius, for the last time. We don't _need _a map," Remus said, peering through the heavy rain that was battering the rented car he was driving before taking a left as the road sign directed.

Sirius turned to his partner with a familiar pout on his face.

"You're the one who insisted the we drive here instead of apparating like the wizards we are."

"Yes I know but-"

"And you're the one who wanted to make good first impression by acting like muggles."

"I did but-"

"Well, then we're going act like muggles and I'm gonna read this map." Sirius ended his sentence with a fierce flourish of his hands that had his dark head disappearing behind the wrinkled map again.

Remus rolled his eyes at the sheer stubbornness of his lover. "Sirius, I do want us to act like muggles. It's just. . . Can you read a map?"

The silence was interrupted only by the pounding of hail stones on the roof of the car. Remus began to count, lowering each finger around the steering wheel as he went and had three fingers left when Sirius harrumphed and vanished the map with a quick wave of his wands.

"Don't know how muggles read all those little squiggly lines anyway," the dog animagus grumbled, sinking down in his seat and glancing despondently out into the terrible weather.

Remus withheld a smirk and reached out to place a hand on the back of Sirius' neck. He rubbed the soft skin with his thumb as he single-handedly took a left at a fork.

"I'm happy that your so committed to this move Sirius," he soothed, smiling as his lover began to relax, "but I don't expect you to give up magic just because we're going to be living in a muggle town."

"I just really want to make this work," Sirius whispered, reaching up and holding Remus' hand in his own. "They've all been through so much and I just. . ."

Remus nodded knowing exactly how the other man felt and after a final squeeze he released Sirius' hand and placed his own back on the steering wheel. He reflected on why exactly they were moving so far away and leaving everything they had ever known behind them.

The war had finally ended just over a month ago. A violent and blood-thirsty battle had taken place on the Hogwarts' grounds after one of the Order's spies had informed them that Voldemort had discovered a way to bring down the school's wards. The younger children had quickly been transported in groups by emergency port keys to safe houses all over the country. The Order, the school's staff and older students as well as members of wizarding Britain's public and Ministry members had stood waiting outside the castle prepared to fight to whatever end.

It was doubtful though that anyone had expected the utter chaos that was the Final Battle. Remus had seen muggle movies as a child and a teenager, his mother had been muggleborn after all. The wars in those movies were so planned, so thought out, so calm in comparison to this.

Here there was no plan, no schedule to follow. There was only blood and mud, slipping and falling, pain and shock, grief and anger. Watching as people you loved were murdered cruelly before your eyes. The Light had swiftly moved from using stunners and hexes to using their most vicious curses and in some cases even the Unforgivables.

Remus and Sirius had watched, fighting side-by-side as they always did as Greyback ripped Tonks' throat and then discard her body like it meant nothing. Remus felt a shiver of satisfaction down his spine as he recalled how Sirius and he had brought the blood-thirsty werewolf to his end.

The battle seemed to go on for hours in a confusion of screaming and shouting but they learned later that they had only been fighting for less the half an hour. So little time and so many people dead. The battle ended abruptly when Harry Potter, the Wizarding World's hero, but merely Remus' and Sirius' godson, discarded his wand in a fit of rage after watching Dumbledore fall under the attack of the Dark Lord. Taking the sword of Gryffindor from the hilt at his waist and while crying out the Killing Curse he plunged the glowing green sword into Voldemort's body.

The effect was instantaneous. The Dark Lord's body, only being kept alive by the small soul fragment left inside it, began to shrivel up and crumple in on itself until there was nothing left but a pile of robes and a yew wand with a phoenix feather for a core.

The rest of the fighters, both from the Light and the Dark, had watched as the Boy-Who-Lived defeated the Dark Lord and then collapsed himself. The remaining Death Eaters and werewolves immediately began to run or apparate hoping that they could escape Azkaban this time around. But the Aurors or members of the Order of the Phoenix who were still able enough were quick to cast off an array of stunners and Body-Binding curses so that most of them were caught.

Friends of Harry Potter, however, only had eyes for him and they hurriedly gathered around his fallen form. Remus and Sirius ran forward and found Harry's head cushioned in Hermione's lap while Theo and Neville knelt on either side of him. Ginny, Ron, Luna, Blaise and Draco stood around them protectively. Remus held Sirius back as he let out a strangled cry and reached for his godson.

Remus reluctantly met Hermione's red eyes and managed a choked, "Is he. . .?"

Hermione shook her head. "He's exhausted," she whispered. "We all are."

That night people all across Britain celebrated, once again toasting the Boy-Who-Defeated-The-Dark-Lord but that night Harry Potter lay sleeping in the Hogwarts' infirmary surrounded by his friends, his family as he slept peacefully for the first time in months.

While the war was now over, many people believed that everything could go back to normal. Most of those people were those who had barely been effected by the war, who hadn't lost anyone in the Final Battle and could now go on with their lives as they had been before the war. Remus and Sirius however could see the reality right in front of their eyes and it was quite plain to them that their job was no where near over.

Harry, who had spent nearly two weeks recovering in the Hogwarts' hospital wing from magical exhaustion and an assortment of burns, cuts and bruises, with a recovering Dumbledore for company, was immediately bombarded with offers from various Quidditch teams, jobs at the Ministry, marriage proposals and requests for interviews from several wizarding newspapers. He was so overwhelmed that the day after he had been released Harry had locked himself into the bathroom in the Gryffindor seventh year dorm room and had refused to come out. A frantic Sirius had finally resorted to blasting down the door and had pulled sobbing godson into his arms, trying very hard not to burst into tears himself.

The next day Sirius, who had quickly been cleared of all charges and given a tidy sum of money for his "unfortunate circumstances" after Pettigrew had been caught after the Final Battle, stormed into the Ministry of Magic. Ignoring the whispers and stares that followed in his wake he had burst into Minister Shacklebolt's office and demanded the forms he would need to sign in order to become Harry Potter's legal guardian.

Kingsley had grinned and immediately summoned a witch from the Magical Child Services Department. The young witch, who looked terrified to be in the same room as the Minister of Magic and ex-convict, quickly handed over the necessary forms and told Sirius that as he was labelled as Harry's legal guardian in James and Lily's will that he could adopt Harry as soon as he signed the papers.

"However. . ." the witch began nervously.

"What?" Sirius demanded, agitated to be gone so that he and Remus could sign the forms and be able to protect Harry from the lunacy of the Wizarding World.

The young witch was even more nervous now and began to wring her hands. "It's down in our registrar that as the last of the Blacks or at least the only one not incarcerated that you are also the legal guardian of Draco Malfoy."

Sirius gaped at her for a whole minute then shook his head and asked for Draco's papers as well. He left the Minister's office more than a little harassed.

Draco Malfoy had been dragged into his father's dungeons on his sixteenth birthday and held at wand point while he was ordered to torture and kill a four-year-old muggle girl. Instead Draco had quickly stunned his father and grabbed the girl as he attempted to fight his way out of the Dark Lord's headquarters.

He had been found outside the gates of Hogwarts by Hagrid. Unconscious and covered in blood with his arms wrapped protectively around the tiny and terrified child. The little girl was in fact not a muggle but a muggleborn who, though frightened had tried to fend off members of the Order when they tried to take away her protector and cast a rather powerful bit of magic that had thrown Moody and Remus backwards.

A twinkly-eyed Dumbledore had told her that they were simply going to heal Draco and that she was more than welcome to accompany them. Harry, who had been watching from the shadows now stepped forward and offer to take the girl with him. She had informed him that 'Dwaco' said she could only go with 'Hawwy P'ter'. A surprised, but smiling Harry told her that he was Harry and the girl eagerly accompanied him.

A sore Draco awoke the next morning to find Harry Potter and the muggle girl sitting by his bed and as she launched herself at him, Draco met Harry's eyes over the small head resting on his chest. Small nods were exchanged and a friendship was developed in an instant when both realised that they would do anything to protect this little girl and any others like her. The next day Draco joined the Order after being subjected to Veritaserum and quickly became a member of Harry's 'inner circle' as it eventually became known as.

That night after much deliberation, Sirius and Remus decided to discuss the situation with Harry and Draco who were both staying in Gryffindor tower with the rest of their group. Both boys agreed eagerly to be adopted by the older men and the subject of Draco's parents, who were now imprisoned in Azkaban, was deftly ignored.

The adoption process was completed quickly and Sirius and Remus ignored others' questions of why they had adopted two boys who would both be seventeen and legal in less than six months. Nobody would understand that now that these boys had more or less saved the world, they were the ones that now needed looking after.

Although, they had been staying in Hogwarts because no one wanted to go back to Grimmauld place, it became more and more obvious as the days went by that they had to leave soon. More and more people were managing to overcome the poorly reinstated wards that a weak Dumbledore had put up after recovering from the severe Cruciatus and Slashing Curses he had been placed under by Voldemort.

However, even as Sirius and Remus began to plan where the four of them should go, more and more tragedies began to emerge from the war.

Hermione, who had Obliviated her parents, then planted a false life in their minds in order to protect them from the war, had decided about a month after the Final Battle that now would be a good time to get them back. She had announced to everyone one night as they sat in the Gryffindor common room drinking hot chocolate and basking in the laziness they could now indulge in.

"I've decided to go find my parents and bring them home," Hermione said softly. But despite how quiet he voice was it still carried to everyone sprawled on the armchairs and couches. They had become attuned to each other during the war, so much so that they almost automatically knew where each one of the group was at every moment of the day. While it was rather invasive, it was also reassuring to know that you were being protected.

"Why now?" Harry asked from his place curled on a rug by the fire.

Hermione shrugged. "The funerals are all over now," Hermione shot an apologetic look towards Ron who stiffened but nodded. "I only did it so that they could be protected from the war and the war is over. I want them back."

Everyone nodded nearly simultaneously and then exchanged half-hearted amused looks.

"But I. . ." Hermione bit her lip uncertainly and got a reprimanding look from Draco.

"Hermione we stuck together during the war. We'll stick together now."

His words got a mumble of agreement from everybody else and that was how three days later Hermione and Blaise accompanied by Remus, brushing dirt off their robes after their crash landing courtesy of a portkey.

"I hate those things," Blaise mumbled as he straightened his robes and glanced around him.

They were in the backyard of a Australian suburban house and quite a nice one at that. After casting a Disillusionment charm on themselves the two wizards and one witch walked towards the door at the back of the house.

"Do you know how to reverse the spell?" Blaise whispered as he peered through one of the windows.

Hermione turned to face him and he nearly groaned at the 'text book answer' look that was written on her face.

"It's quite a simple procedure actually. I simply have to remove the false memories I placed inside their heads and a simple charm will restore the old ones. The fake ones _have_ to be removed though. They can't have two different sets of memories in their heads at the same time. It would drive them mad. . ."

Hermione's voice trailed away and Blaise took in the stricken look on her face as she looked over his shoulder. Knowing that that look could never mean anything good, Blaise turned slowly to face whatever it was. The sight had him taking a deep gasp of breath before letting it out in a rush.

Through a window Blaise could see what he presumed was Mrs. Granger sitting on a couch looking incredibly happy and on her lap was a baby in a blue sleeper who appeared to be roughly two months old. As he continued to watch a man entered the room carrying a baby bottle wrapped in a small towel. He handed the bottle to the woman and watched with an enraptured face as the tiny baby latched happily onto the milk, stroking the baby's head as he did.

Blaise whirled around as Remus whispered, "Oh Hermione. . ." and the tears that had yet to fall began to trickle down her face.

Blaise caught her before she fell and cradled her in his arms as she wept. "Hermione, it's ok. We can still work something out, we can still get your parents back." But his words sounded false even to his ears.

"No," she whispered," if I get them back, if I give them back their memories then they lose him. I-I can get over this but he needs them. My brother needs them."

"Hermione. . ."

"Take me home," Hermione whimpered into his neck. "Just take me home Blaise. Please."

Blaise nodded stiffly and picked her up in his arms. They walked back to the portkey in silence and Remus picked it up, said the activation word and the world disappeared from under their feet. For the first time in as long as he could remember Blaise landed on his feet after the portkey deposited them at the gates of Hogwarts.

Hermione didn't move when they landed, she simply curled up tighter against his chest her hands clutching fistfuls of his robes. Blaise took courage from the comforting hand that Remus placed on his shoulder and together they walked across the grounds.

They received questioning looks when they entered the common room but Blaise ignored them as he climbed the stairs to the boys dorm room, knowing that he wouldn't be able to enter the girl's dormitory and placed Hermione on his bed.

"Stay," she whispered beseechingly as he turned to leave.

Blaise didn't answer. He simply toed off his shoes and climbed into the bed with her. She curled against his chest, sobs wracking her body as he held her and she grieved for the family she had lost. Yet another casualty of war. Blaise held her until she cried herself into a restless sleep and only then allowed himself to close his eyes.

Remus had explained to the everyone what had happened and the next day they were all sympathetic while remaining unobtrusive. They were there for a shoulder to cry on, yet didn't approach Hermione themselves, knowing that she would approach them when she was ready.

While everyone tried to be there for their friend, it was harder for others. Ron's entire family had been deeply involved in the war and it was only expected that they would suffer losses. All the same the shock of losing Percy when the family had only just made up with him was more than many of them were able to handle. Mrs. Weasley had been there to support everyone at the end of the war and had even visited Harry when he was in hospital. After Percy's funeral though she seemed to breakdown and the family gathered togehter to try and help each other in their time of grief.

Charlie had resigned from his job at the dragon's keep in Romania, had accepted the post of Care of Magical Creatures at Hogwarts and had moved back into the Burrow. Likewise Bill, who had not yet resigned from his job at Gringotts as he and Fleur needed the money with a baby on the way now, had moved into one of the houses in Ottery St. Catchpole so that he would be nearer to his family.

Fred and George on the other hand seemed to spend their time between busying themselves with their business in an attempt to forget the war altogether or appearing at the house to try to cheer their mum up. Their attempts at humour usually ended in arguments between them and their father who believed that their jokes held no place in their house while they were grieving.

Ginny, who had been part of the group during the war but never quite as involved as some of the others mainly because of her reluctance to accept the three Slytherins as their friends, seemed to be coping the best. She was a support for her mum as well as a buffer in her family when the arguments between her father and brother's started up. She alone seemed to be coping with Percy's death by helping everyone else. Her one problem however, was that she felt Ron should be with the family now instead of spending time with his friends.

Ron had tried to split his time equally between his friends and his family, but while Harry and everyone else supported the fact that he needed to be with his family, his family didn't return the sentiment. His brother's were constantly telling him to move back home, that he was needed there now. They didn't seem to realise that he was also needed at Hogwarts.

While Harry appeared to be the leader of their group it was actually Ron and Blaise that essentially held everyone togther. The others all had insecurities that Ron and Blaise had helped them overcome. Harry, Theo, Neville and Draco often leaned on the older two boys as emotional supports. While Harry and Neville relied more on Ron and Theo and Draco on Blaise, both boys had an understanding that everyone in the group was theirs to protect.

With the war only just passed Ron and Blaise were needed more than ever. Yet Ron found himself spending more and more time away as his brothers called on him. Worse still was the fact that Ron sometimes didn't _want _to be at home. Bill and Charlie continued to treat him like a child despite the fact that he had fought in the war just like they had. For someone who was often relied on by several different people this was an infuriating change.

His mother barely noticed he was there anymore and every time he came home his dad was locked away in his shed, refusing to answer when called. Fred and George incensed him with their attempts at being funny and their slurs at his Slytherin friends who had fought in the war just like they had. Charlie had had to pull him back after he broke George's nose when the twin had called Theo, the Death Eater's whore. Ron knew that this was the twin's defence mechanism. That they used jokes and pranks to cover up their hurt and anger but he would never allow them to label Theo a whore.

Ron had stomped into the common room late one night after returning from the Burrow and found it empty apart from Sirius who was reading a book. Ron had ignored his best friend's godfather for and slumped down in one of the seats by the dying fire.

"You ok, Ron?" Sirius had lowered his book and was peering at him in concern.

Ron grunted.

"You just came back from the Burrow, didn't you?"

Ron grunted again.

"You know, I don't know if Harry told you about this but I hate quite a hard life with my family," Sirius spoke softly, his eyes focused on the bent head of the red-headed boy. "I knew that they loved me in their own way. All of them did. But they also had certain expectations that they wanted me to live up to and as much I wanted to please them I knew that I couldn't do what they asked me. I didn't want them to be disappointed in me but my heart was torn in two ways and I knew which way I wanted to go."

Ron raised his head to look at the sympathetic gaze directed his way and blurted out what was wrong. How his family always wanted him there, then how they acted when he was there. How he needed time to mourn Percy properly but he didn't think he could when surrounded by the rest of his family. He told Sirius everything and the older man listened patiently. The dog animagus felt his fists clench at the name the twin's had given to Theo but didn't interrupt.

When Ron was done Sirius stood and wrapped him a warm hug and whispered that he was welcome to stay with Remus and him anytime. Ron nodded gratefully and rubbed a hand roughly across his eyes as he stood.

"Thanks Sirius," Ron muttered gruffly. He passed Remus coming out of the boy's dormitory as he entered it and gave him a weak smile.

Remus Lupin smiled at the sight his lover sprawled across one of the red couches that Draco often complained about. Sirius could probably hear him approaching but he kept his eyes closed when Remus walked over.

The werewolf couldn't resist bending down and brushing a soft kiss one each of Sirius lids and ending with a chaste one on his lips. He lifted Sirius head off of the couch then replaced it on his lap once he had sat down.

"How is Neville?" Sirius questioned without opening his eyes and snuggled into the warmth of Remus thigh.

Remus sighed. "Not good I'm afraid. We knew of course that the chances of Augusta getting better were very slim but I had hoped from Neville's sake that she would pull through."

Augusta Longbottom, Neville's grandmother had contracted septicaemia after been hit with a Cutting Curse during the Final Battle. The disease had taken it's toll on the old woman and she had finally succumbed to the illness that afternoon despite the Healer's best attempts to save her. Neville had been distraught when informed. He had been to see her the day before and one of the healer's had told him it was believed that Augusta would make a full recovery. It had taken three hours for Neville to calm down enough for Remus and Harry to help him up to bed and Harry had poured a Dreamless Sleep Potion into his tea.

"Draco and Harry levitated their beds closer to his in case he wakes up during the night," Remus said as he stroked Sirius' silky, shoulder-length locks. "Sirius what do you think about. . . you know. . .taking Neville in as well?"

Sirius opened his eyes in surprise and Remus opened his mouth to back pedal but his partner bet him to it.

"I already presumed that we would be taking him anyway," Sirius replied still looking puzzled. "After all Alice and Frank were very good friends of ours. We're not going to abandon their son. We;d also have another member to add to our pack."

Remus grinned at the wolfish term for their family, then frowned and asked why Ron had looked so upset. Sirius quickly explained about Ron and his family and his offer for the red-head to come live with them.

"I agree," Remus assured his dark-haired lover. "But I don't think the Weasley's will be very happy about it."

"Ron is already seventeen, they don't have a decision in what he does and I refuse to allow them to guilt him into anything. We're already taking all of the group except Ginny and Luna. I'm just glad that they still have families to stay with."

"My protective little mate," Remus whispered into Sirius' ear. The dog animagus flushed in pleasure, but scowled up at the laughing amber eyes.

"I am not little," he protested, then sobered when he heard a cry from up stairs. A night never passed when one of their charges didn't have nightmares. They listened and heard one of the other's get out of bed and no doubt climb in with whoever had had the nightmare.

"Do you think that once we get them settled somewhere new, that we should. . .maybe take some of them to a mind healer?"

Remus looked contemplatively at his mate, truly considering the question. "I don't think that would be such a bad idea," he replied evenly. "Some of them probably only need time and comfort to heal. Ron and Neville for example, they need to grieve their losses and they can't do it here. Blaise probably only needs time as well. Killing your own brother would be a traumatic experience for anyone. But Blaise talks to me, he tells me how he's doing each day and I think having the other's rely on him the way they do gives him comfort as well."

Remus paused and Sirius nodded sadly in understanding. They were both thinking of the other four in their care.

Sirius bit his lip, a habit Remus found endearing, before he took off where Remus stopped. "Draco is going to need a bit more care than that. Blaise was part of a Death Eater family but his home wasn't made into the Dark Lord's lair." The blond boy had been forced to watch countless torturing and killings at the hands of his own father and friends, been instructed to torture and kill as well and then punished when he didn't deliver.

"Draco is healing from simply being around people who love him for himself. He would never have healed during the war but now that he never has to fight again he can allow himself to repair the damage his father did. Hermione too, will need help. She's lost her parents and a brother and blames herself despite the fact that she was only trying to protect them. They're not dead so she can't grieve them, but she can never be reconciled with them either."

Remus hummed in agreement with Sirius' assessment of the two and felt a tremble run through the ex-convict as he thought of their last two charges and the two that would no doubt need the most help to heal.

"Harry and Theo," Sirius whispered and hid his tears in Remus' cloth covered thigh.

Remus took a deep breath and began. "Harry needs help, no questions asked. He has had to lead a war and kill someone simply because he was told he had to. He also needs to heal from the Dursley's treatment."

Sirius growled as he thought of Harry's small stature because he had been starved by his own relatives. He relaxed as Remus absently patted his head like he did when Sirius was in his animagus form.

"Harry needs to get over the guilt he's feeling for all the people who died in the battle and he needs to be a child for the first time in his life. He needs to learn how to live again. His panic attacks and flashbacks are a problem too. Theo though. . . Merlin, Sirius I don't know how we're supposed to help Theo. Where do we even start?"

"We start by being a family. A proper one," Sirius said firmly, " All of us. We're going to show Harry and Theo what a family is really like. . ."

Theodore Nott, Theo as he was known to his friends. His suffering had started a long time before the war had even begun. And it was all at the hands of the monster he called Father. Theo's earliest memory was of when he was four years old. He had been playing hide-and-seek with a house-elf called Bibby, who looked after him. The small boy had been hiding under one of the larger tables in their huge living room when his father and mum had entered. His parents were shouting.

"I don't want those people in my house," his mum had shouted and Theo had felt sad because he could see her crying. He didn't want his mummy to cry, she was too pretty to be sad.

"They'll be staying here because I say they will," his father had roared back. Theo had cringed. He never saw his father much because he spent most of his time with his mummy or Bibby and he was always scared of how tall and big his father was when he did see him. "It is my house and I say who will be staying and who won't."

Theo's eyes widened as his mummy's face went red. She only went that colour when Theo did something really bad, like breaking the vase in the hall when he was running or spilling milk all over his new clothes.

"You can let them stay here all you want but they won't be anywhere near me or my son!" His mum turned to leave and Theo cried out as his father jumped on her. The big man's huge hands wrapped around the woman's slender throat and Theo heard a loud cracking noise.

"Mummy," the young boy cried, scrambling out from under the table. He fell to his knees beside the still woman and shook her shoulder softly.

"Mummy," he whispered, when he noticed her closed eyes. "Are you sleeping?"

The boy shrieked as a hand grabbed his small wrist and pulled him away from his mummy. A blinding pain erupted at the left side of his face and he hit the ground hard, knocked off his feet by the slap his father had given him. Theo looked up and the flinched back from the towering figure above.

"How dare you spy on me?" his father roared. "Get out!"

Theo scrambled to his feet and ran for the door but paused before leaving, glancing back at his mummy. "But mummy-" He ducked the book that was thrown his way and darted through the door towards his room as fast as his small legs could carry him.

Bibby found him a few minutes later curled up in a ball and sobbing on his bed, cradling his swollen cheek. Like always Bibby looked after him. She put a healing salve on his face then put him in the bath and got him ready for bed.

Theo never saw his mummy again and presumed that she had abandoned him. It was only years later that he realised his father had murdered his mum that day by breaking her neck. A week later while he was playing with his toy dragons in his room Theo heard shouting from downstairs. Bibby had gone to get him lunch and hopefully wouldn't be back for awhile yet. Theo pushed open the door and slowly tiptoed down the hall towards the top of the stairs where the voices were the loudest.

Peeking between the spaces in the railing of the stairs he saw that they were loads of people down in the hall by the door where mummy always told him not to run because it was dangerous. They were strange looking people too, he thought. Some of them were very dirty and only had pants on, no shirts. They were all very big like his father who was in the middle of them all and Theo saw the largest of all them shake his father's hand. The man had long, silver hair and scary black eyes.

Theo jumped when the man looked at him and grinned. His teeth were very sharp-looking like a dog's and the small boy felt himself tremble in fear. He willingly went with Bibby when she came looking for him. She too looked frightened and Theo found himself nodding when she pleaded with him not to leave the room unless she told him to.

Following her orders for the next few years was easily done. Bibby brought him food and drink in his room everyday. Theo had hundreds of toys in his room and more seemed to appear everyday. There loads of different books as well, that Bibby educated him in how to read and sometimes she even taught him some magic. Whenever his father, who seemed to have forgotten about him, or the strange men left Bibby would take him outside and let him wander around in the fresh air. She would always make him come inside before anyone returned but Theo loved those days.

Eventually, like any boy his age, Theo become frustrated with his restricted lifestyle and the secret trips they had to make outside when the house was empty. He felt that he should be allowed roam as he pleased in his own house. At the age of seven, Theo had quite forgotten the scary man with the sharp teeth who had stared at him all those years ago.

Escaping from under the nose of the sharp-eyed Bibby proved to be rather easier than he had thought it would be. It turned out that every night after he went to sleep, Bibby would leave the room to do whatever it was that house-elves do. Theo had kept his eyes closed for a few minutes after she had popped out of the room but once he was certain she would not return, he eagerly scrambled out of bed.

The small boy shivered as his bare feet touched the cold floor of the hall outside his room. He bit his lip as he glanced nervously up and down the dark passageway but took a deep breath. This was his home he reminded himself as he began to walk, tripping over the hem of his long nightshirt. But it had been so long since Theo had explored the Nott Manor that he quickly got lost.

The dark seemed to press in on him from all sides because the corridors were only barely lit with gas lamps. His breath came in quick pants and he shivered not entirely from the cold. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea after all. Desperate to get away from the long, empty halls Theo pushed open the door closest to him and darted inside. He gasped when he saw the room.

It was the Nott family's library. Books that had been gathered by his ancestors for hundreds of years lined the walls on shelves. Theo smiled happily at the familiar sight and the memory of how his mother and he used to come her every night before bed. She would lead him to where the fairytales were and every night he would close his eyes and point at a book. That would be the book the she read him that night.

Theo had his hand stretched out reaching for _The Tales of Beedle the Bard _when he heard a growl from behind him. The small boy whirled around and gasped at the sight of the large, silver haired man he had seen with his father three years ago. Had the man be here all along? He had not heard him come in. The man growled again and Theo whimpered at the canine-like sound.

"What have we here?" The man reached out a hand and smirked when Theo flinched back. "I do believe you're Nott Junior aren't you?"

Theo glanced up at the golden eyes staring intently at him and gave a shaky nod.

"I had wondered if you were still alive," the man mused, still smirking. "Your father never mentions you and I only ever saw you that one time."

The man didn't speak again but continued to gaze keenly at him. Theo fidgeted, feeling uncomfortable under those eyes, desperately wishing he had never left his bed at all.

"I-I should g-go back to b-bed," Theo stammered, backing away from the imposing man and making a sudden run for the still open door.

A large hand grabbed the back of his nightshirt and Theo tumbled to the ground with a shriek. Looking up he saw that the grip the scary man still had on him was causing his nightclothes to bunch up, exposing his naked legs and nearly his bare bottom as well. His shaking hands reach down to cover himself but his hand was caught in a harsh grip and he was shoved roughly to the floor. The man was now kneeling beside him and Theo trembled in fear when those big, hairy hands held his face.

Fenrir Greyback felt like growling in satisfaction as he examined the delicate, pale face in his grip and excitement made him lick his lips. He shivered in pleasure as a whimper escaped the boy when he carded his hand roughly through the thick mass of brown curls.

"I really do love children," he whispered into the boy's ear before claiming his lips.

Theo had been found by a hysterical Bibby a few hours later, curled in a ball and surrounded by his shredded nightshirt, blood and other fluids while he wept. Bibby had transported her hysterical master to a bath where she had cleaned him and put him to bed just as she had on the night his father had killed his mummy.

Theo had prayed that night that if he never left his room again the big man who had hurt him would never come looking for him again. That he would forget him. But his prayers were in vain. Only two days later, Theo saw his father for the first time in three years.

The man only said a single sentence to him, "About time you became useful for something," before he proceeded to violate his only son.

Theo could not understand at the age of seven what the scary man and his father were doing to him. He only discovered the ethics of sex, or in his case rape, when he attended Hogwarts four years later. All he knew now was that it hurt, it really hurt and that he couldn't sit on the ground and play with his toys anymore because his bum was sore.

Although it was only Fenrir and his father at first, they soon began to pass him around to the other men in Fenrir's pack. The other werewolves were just as vicious as their Alpha and host. For that was what they were, werewolves. Disgusting animals that craved blood and laughed at his pain, at his tears.

Bibby would cry when she washed him and then give him pain-potions, but Theo learned quickly that crying did no good. He could never prevent the screams and cries he let out when he was violated and he never tried to, but he could control his tears when he was alone and he strived to do just that.

Hogwarts had been his saving grace just like it had been for Harry. Every time Theo was hurt again a mantra would repeat in his head _just two years left to go, just one year left, just two months left_. Until finally it was time, Theo had always considered the idea that his father may decide not to let him go. To keep him at home for pleasure's sake, however Theo was his only heir and therefore needed to be educated.

Bibby and he had celebrated one night in his room after his father had told him they would be going shopping the next day for school supplies. Fenrir had not been pleased to be losing his 'pet' as he referred to Theo and had punished him harshly the night before he was to leave. Theo had been so badly injured that his father had reluctantly healed him the next day so that he could walk out of the house himself.

Despite the fact the Theo's childhood had ended that night in the library almost four years ago, he could not keep the excitement and glee from showing on his face when he first saw Hogwarts. Of course there had been that terrifying moment when the Sorting Hat had nearly placed him in Gryffindor because of his courage. Thankfully he had quickly convinced it otherwise. He shuddered at the thought of the punishment he would receive at the hand of his father if he was not placed in Slytherin.

However, as much as Theo had wanted to simply forget his home life, it was not that easy. Dreams and memories plagued him, often keeping him awake all night so that he was exhausted the next day. One night after he woke, Blaise Zabini crawled into the bed next beside him and wrapped his arms around him sternly telling him to settle down so that everyone else could sleep. For the first two months at Hogwarts Theo had kept to himself. Having had no one but Bibby to speak to for the past seven years made him quiet and shy. The feel of arms around him, while comforting, was also frightening but with a whispered reassurance Theo felt himself falling asleep peacefully for the first time in years. After that night Theo soon became close friends with Blaise and Draco Malfoy. Draco, like Theo, suffered with nightmares of his home life and had also been comforted by Blaise at night time.

Theo, while quiet, had a calming presence on the group. Draco talked enough for the three of them as he rambled on about Pothead and Weaselbee and other nonsense that Theo and Blaise rarely understood, but listened to patiently all the same. Blaise who was slightly more talkative than Theo labelled himself as their protector. He seemed to revel in looking after the other two. The dark-skinned boy also didn't trust Crabbe or Goyle with either of the smaller boys' safety. He could see how Theo would glance nervously at them, no doubt because of their size.

Blaise was partially correct. Theo _was _wary of the two boys because of their size, but only because they resembled the huge werewolves that he shared his house with. The school year passed too quickly for Theo's liking and he dreaded going home that simmer.

Eventually the shy boy became used to going home only because he knew that he would be returning at the end of the summer. As long as he could return to Hogwarts and Blaise and Draco he knew he could put up with the werewolves and his father. His two friends had never asked about his home life, presuming that their questions would not be answered. They knew from his nightmares and his reluctance to return home every summer that his home life was abusive and Theo appreciated the fact that they did not ask. While Draco had confessed to being beaten by his father, he had not been sexually abused and Theo couldn't bare to see the looks of disgust and horror he would probably receive if he told them.

Fate it seemed was against him. Theo's hope that Fenrir would grow tired of him because he preferred children proved to be nothing except wishful thinking. The older he got the more and more possessive the werewolf grew until eventually he would allow no one except himself to touch the boy.

On his sixteenth birthday, Fenrir informed a horrified Theo that he planned to claim him as his mate and for the first time in years Theo struggled and fought against the monster who had stole his virginity and his childhood. He would not be tied to this animal for the rest of his life.

Fenrir seemed amused at first and allowed the kicks and punches to connect, he soon grew tired though. He forced Theo's thrashing legs open and slapped him hard across the face. Theo tried to blink away the stars in his eyes and grimaced at the weight of the werewolf on him. He crawled across the bed when the weight was suddenly removed, not caring that his head was spinning or that blood was dripping out of his mouth. He nearly screamed as arms encircled his waist and lashed out viciously.

"Theo, its me," a shaky voice said. "Its Blaise. God, Theo I'm so sorry. I didn't know, I didn't think that. . ." The voice trailed away and Blaise began to sob.

Blaise was crying, was Theo's only thought, and because of me.

"Blaise, why are you here?" Theo finally asked, still struggling to see through his hazy vision.

Blaise gasped, remembering why exactly he had Flooed here. "Draco is at Hogwarts. He ran away from home with a muggle girl he saved and has joined the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore's group. They've offered him protection and offered it to us too. You must pack." Theo merely looked at his friend in shock.

Blaise took a closer look at his friend and quickly realised that Theo appeared to have a concussion. His pupils were unequal and his gaze unfocused. Hastily Blaise transfigured a pillow into a suitcase, suppressing his rage at what he had seen when he arrived for the moment, though he shot a dirty look at the stunned body in the middle of the room.

By luck, Theo's personal house elf appeared and after seeing what he was doing helped him gather up clothes and Theo's most prized possessions. She sent the luggage and herself to Hogwarts while Blaise picked a dazed Theo up in his arms and carried him through the Floo and out of Nott Manor for the last time.

"A family," Remus whispered, knocking Sirius out of his memories. "Sirius we're going to be parents to seven teenagers."

That was what had led them here on a rainy, road using a rented car while Sirius moped. The older wizards had taken the seven teenagers to Grimmauld Place three days after Neville's grandmother had died. The amount of people trying to get in to see the Chosen One and his friends continued to grow and after Hermione turned up with a broken nose after being accosted by an overenthusiastic photographer working for the Daily Prophet, it was a mutual decision to leave. Said photographer was now in the hospital wing, but the boys had no sympathy for him and Remus had had to seal the doors of the common room shut to prevent some of them from trying to do further damage.

Grimmauld Place was quickly discarded as a new place to make their home as well. The dark artefacts and the décor reminded Theo, Blaise and Draco of their own houses and it was clear that the Gryffindor's didn't feel any more comfortable there. Sirius in particular became withdrawn and sullen and it pained Remus to see his mate and cubs still suffering now that the war was over.

Sirius and Remus quickly came to the agreement that staying in Britain was the worse thing they could possibly do. They needed a fresh start, somewhere that nobody knew who they were. Although Sirius was rather reluctant in agreeing that somewhere muggle was probably for the best.

Forks, Washington had been a random decision. Remus, who was far more versed in communicating with muggles than Sirius, had visited a travel agency in London. After describing that he wanted to travel to somewhere in America that was small, isolated and rainy, at which point he was given an odd look by the travel agency employee, he was handed a list of place names.

Sirius had decided that America was the best choice due to its lack of wizard and witches. They also wanted somewhere small and isolated where the children could recover in peace. The rain would hopefully be something that would put them at ease. Britain was never lacking in rain after all. It was then that they had suggested the idea of moving to the young wizards and witch. Their proposal was met eagerly by everyone except Ron who was reluctant to move so far away from his family. He was reassured that they he had to time to think about it, but truthfully Sirius and Remus were hoping to buy a house and move as soon as possible.

They had left their cubs in the capable hands of Minerva McGonagall and Albus Dumbledore though Remus shuddered at the thought of what Albus would teach them without supervision with McGonagall being preoccupied as the new Headmistress of Hogwarts. Dumbledore would continue to live in the castle, but merely as a highly esteemed guessed rather than a member of the staff. He wished to live out the rest of his life free of obligations.

". . .emus, Remus!"

Remus started at the sound of his name been called. Repeatedly. He turned his head and was met with the concerned eyes of his partner.

"Are you alright?" Sirius asked anxiously. "We've been parked in front of this stop sign for nearly five minutes and you haven't said anything. We're lucky that his road is deserted."

"I'm sorry," Remus said, taking his foot off the brake. "I was just thinking."

Sirius didn't push for answers, knowing that if his lover wanted to confide in him he would when he was ready. The animagus jumped suddenly and excitedly pointed out a sign on the road that read: _Forks._

_We're here._ The thought was not spoken but Sirius and Remus simultaneously reached out a hand for the other and kept a firm grip when they drove into what they hoped would be their new home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary: **For the Black-Lupin family, Forks is a second chance at life and at love for a group of war-damaged teenagers and their parents. Post-War. Harry/Jacob

**Pairings:** Jacob/Harry, Remus/Sirius, Seth/Draco, Embry/Theo, Hermione/Blaise, Ron/Neville.

**Category:** Harry Potter/Twilight

**Genre:** Romance/Family.

**Rating:** M/NC-17

**Warnings:** Mature themes, slash, gay (male/male) relationships, some angst, drama, gay sex, crossover, canon for books one to four and AU after that.

* * *

"We're lost!" Sirius exclaimed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"We are not lost Sirius," Remus replied patiently, although he was beginning to despair himself.

They had entered the small town of Forks only twenty minutes ago. From what they could see through the torrents of rain it appeared to be a small, but quaint looking town. The main street was occupied by a grocery store, a flower shop and a sports equipment shop with a small range of other shops in between. The entire town was also surrounded by forest in every direction. It was exactly what they had been looking for. Somewhere quiet and inconspicuous where they could all escape from the Wizarding World.

"How could we get lost in a town with a population of less than three thousand?" Sirius moaned.

"What was the address of the house again?"

Sirius rummaged in his leather jacket and pulled out his wand, followed by a half-eaten chocolate frog and a partly chewed dog bone. Remus rolled his eyes. His lover who was often worse than Hagrid for holding onto the strangest things.

"I have it," Sirius proclaimed triumphantly as he brandished a wrinkled piece of paper. "No wait, that's a receipt from that shop we stopped at in Port Angeles. Wait maybe this is. . .no that's . . . I have no idea what that is but I am definitely throwing it into the bin."

"You lost it," Remus said flatly, peering through the windows. They appeared to have left the main part of Forks behind because they were now travelling on a small road that he presumed led to another part of Forks. "Sirius, we're supposed to meet the real estate agent at three 'o clock."

"I haven't lost it, I've just . . .misplaced it. I'm sorry Remus," Sirius pouted at his lover who rolled his eyes again, but visibly softened.

Remus was relieved when he glimpsed more houses up ahead but frowned when he saw that it seemed more like another village altogether. He stopped the car in front of what appeared to be a grocery store.

"I'm going to ask for directions," Remus said, chuckling when Sirius eagerly jumped out of the car to stretch his legs.

The animagus joined his lover and they walked towards the small shop. As they got closer it became obvious that it might be more of a café than a shop. There were chairs and tables placed outside and despite the pouring rain a number of dark-skinned boys were lounging around on them in nothing but shorts or trousers.

When Sirius and Remus approached the boys turned curious eyes upon them. In a split second, when Remus met the eyes of what appeared to be the oldest boy he felt his normally dormant wolf rise his head and a growl started in his throat. The moment disappeared as quickly as it had come when Sirius shook his head sending water flying in all directions, including on the boys.

"Sirius," Remus scolded, although he was resisting the urge to do the same thing. Canine habits die hard after all.

"Its ok man," one of the boys laughed. "I don't think we can get any wetter if we tried."

His words got a shout of general agreement from his friends although Sirius and Remus were aware that they were still under scrutiny. The boys' eyes, while curious were wary and suspicious. Remus held out his hand in hopes to portray a friendly image, his nose twitching at the strange scent he felt coming from them.

"My name is Remus and this is Sirius," the werewolf indicated to his lover who gave the boys a cheerful wave. "We're kind of lost."

"Lost?" the oldest boy let out a bark of laughter even as he leaned forward to shake Remus' outstretched hand. "How can you possibly get lost here?"

Remus shrugged and flushed but glared at Sirius. "Someone lost the address."

Sirius wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to his lover. His gaze was fixed on a black motorbike parked a few feet away.

"You like it?" Another boy jumped up off his seat to approach Sirius and beckoned him to follow. "She's a beauty isn't she? I built her all by myself." The two were now standing in front of the bike.

"I had one myself when I was younger," Sirius began and Remus tuned him out. When Sirius started to talk about his beloved motorbike he could go on for hours. The only ones that ever listened to him were Harry and Blaise who both longed for motorcycles of their own.

Remus turned back to the group of young men. They weren't really boys, he mused staring at them. Their shirtless state left nothing to the imagination and he could clearly see the muscled biceps, the six-packs and the strong chests.

"We're supposed to be meeting a real estate agent at a house known as the Old Willow," Remus told them.

The name had stood out for him when he was reading the list of houses available in Forks. While his time as a werewolf was never pleasant, the Whomping Willow held some great memories for him.

The young men exchanged wide-eyed glances. "Your buying that place?" one of them asked.

"We're hoping to," Remus replied.

"Well you don't have to got too far. The Old Willow is here in La Push. You just have to go down to the end of the road there and take a left. Your house in at the end of the road and it's the only house there. You can't miss it."

"Wait," Remus interrupted, puzzled. "I thought the house was in Forks?"

There was another glance between the young men. "La Push is a Native American reservation," one explained. "Forks is only a few miles away. You probably got mixed up. I'm Jared by the way. That's Sam, Embry, Quil, Paul's the grumpy looking one, and Jake's over there talking to your friend."

Remus nodded at them all, still looking confused.

"You ok dude?" Quil asked.

"Its just," Remus paused before deciding that he might as well come out with it. "We didn't realise this was a reservation and I doubt you allow um-"

"-your kind," Sam finished off for him, before shrugging. "It happens. Not often but as you mean no harm we don't object to it. You'll probably have to see the tribal council sometime today though."

Remus sighed in relief and nodded. The last thing they needed was hostility from the people who already lived here. The boys were happy to inform him where he could find the tribal council.

"You're both from Britain aren't you?" At Remus' nod, Embry grinned. "I thought I recognised the accent. No offence, but why would you move from one of the wettest, coldest countries in the world to the wettest, coldest places in the world?"

Remus smiled at the genuinely curious question but Sirius returned before he could answer. The dark-haired man was practically vibrating with enthusiasm and Remus could only hope that he kept that energy until they got into bed tonight.

They both bid goodbye to the young men behind them and climbed pack into their rented car.

"That was great. He sure knows his stuff," Jake sighed, grabbing Seth's can of coke and chugged back the entire thing in one go.

"Hn," Sam grunted non-committedly.

Jake glanced at the anxious faces of the rest of his pack. "Great, what now? The only time Sam grunts like that and the rest of you mope means that something is up."

"Jake, don't tell me you didn't't smell that," Sam growled.

"Sam-," a warning growl was his only answer. "Alright I smelt it, Remus smells like a wolf he smells like us but that doesn't mean anything. He couldn't really be-"

"-one of us? Then why does he smell like us?"

"Come on Sam, he's a pale-face. Its probably just a coincidence," Jared said. "How could he possibly be one of us?"

Same shook his head. "Fine. You're right. Come on, Emily's expecting us for dinner."

They stood up simultaneously, eager at the thought of consuming Emily's muffins but Quil's question had everyone groaning.

"So who do you reckon tops?"

"Quil!"

* * *

Unaware of the conversation taking place behind them, Remus and Sirius were glad to finally know where they were going on. "I can't believe we're going to be living right beside the sea," Sirius said, as he gazed out at the Pacific Ocean.

Remus smiled softly at his mate's happiness and hoped that their adopted children would feel the same way. The sea quickly disappeared from sight when the trees on either side of the road grew more dense, only reappearing now and again in spaces between the foliage. To Sirius the road seemed to be never-ending and just as his patience was finally wearing out they turned a corner and a house came into view.

Sirius breath hitched as they caught a first glance of their new home. A high stone wall surrounded the entire house and the vast gardens. The large black gates built in to the wall were opened and they drove straight through. When they had read the description of the house it had said large gardens, but this was unbelievable. They had at least three acres in land at the front and sides of the garden, which was all enclosed by a ten foot wall. The wall stopped before reaching the back of the house where the garden became dense forest.

Remus placed a hand under Sirius' chin and closed his mouth. "Come on Sirius. She's waiting for us." He gestured towards the woman in an expensive looking suit who was waiting by the front door of the house.

Sirius stumbled out of the car and gazed up at the house. It was a large two-storey house built with wood and he was grateful it hadn't been painted. He loved how the house seemed to almost blend in with the scenery. As they made their way towards their realtor Sirius stopped short.

"Oh, Remus," he whispered and pointed at the house's namesake. The willow was a beautiful and majestic tree. Very old by its height and the vines that nearly swept the ground and Sirius was hit with memories of another, more violent willow tree.

Remus clasped his lover's hand and held onto it as they greeted the real estate agent. She was a middle-aged woman, not beautiful but still striking. Her dark blue, almost black eyes caught their attention and she smile warmly at them when she held out her hand.

"We're very sorry we're late," Remus apologized, first he then Sirius shook her hand.

"Nonsense," she waved off their apologies. "Its only by a few minutes. You could be an hour late as long as it meant somebody was finally buying this house. I'm Marissa by the way."

"While we're outside I might as well point out the vast gardens. All the area within the walls and several acres of the forest at the back belongs to this estate. You can see that the house also comes with a garage that can fit up to three cars."

Marissa led them into the house which immediately opened onto a large hallway. She led them through a large door-less archway and into a huge sitting room. "As you can see the sitting room is extremely large, which appeals to most people. It has a lot of space to work with and the French doors over there open onto a patio and the garden at the side of the house."

She paused by a large fireplace that both men knew their charges would love. They had a habit of gathering around the fire in the common room. "This fireplace can be removed of course, that's entirely your choice. As you can see there is no door for the sitting room and it's like that for most of the rooms downstairs. This is what turns most people of this house, the general openness of it. Although doors can be installed you would first need to fix the walls because the archways wouldn't hold a door."

They followed her through another archway that led into the kitchen. It was roughly the same size as the living room, furnished with steel counters and cabinets, as well as room leftover for a table and chairs. There was a large kitchen island in the centre of the room. A door on the left side of the kitchen led to the utility room and a small bathroom.

"There is also a smaller room that can be made into what ever you wish, a den, a study or a bedroom."

Remus had to drag Sirius away from that room before he began devising what he wanted to turn it into. The werewolf didn't even want to know what the ex-convict/ Marauder would come up with. He doubted it was something he ever wanted to face.

"All the bedrooms are upstairs," Marissa called back to them as they thumped their up the wooden stairs.

Carpet, Sirius mouthed to Remus who nodded. Carpets would definitely muffle the sound of the wood for those who wanted to sleep in the morning opposed to those who wanted to get up early.

"Now, there are six bedrooms. The master bedroom, another ensuite bedroom and four other bedrooms. All are roughly the same size apart from the master bedroom which is slightly larger."

They followed the perky realtor into the master bedroom which both men easily fell in love with. It was a large room with a built-in closet and a joined bathroom. While Marissa described the features of the large bathroom Sirius and Remus' eyes were drawn to the window that spanned the length of one wall where the willow's branches were so close that they almost touched the window.

Sirius sighed contently when Remus wrapped his arms around him from behind.

"I love it," Sirius whispered, even as he spoke the rain which had eased off began to pour down again. Sirius laughed and felt the movement of his lover's chest against his back indicating that he was chuckling too.

"Even with all the rain?" Remus whispered, his lips pressed against Sirius' ear and smiled when the dark-haired man gasped.

"Even with all the rain," Sirius confirmed.

A soft cough let them know that Marissa had returned from the bathroom. The two men took their time pulling apart reluctant to remove themselves from their rather intimate embrace, but wanting to see the rest of the house. The next room she led them to the ensuite bedroom which had a view of the front garden.

"This should be Hermione's room," Remus murmured to Sirius who raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "She's the only girl. The boys will have to share the other bathrooms then."

The last four bedrooms were more or less the same apart from the fact that each had a different view. They were all fairly large in size and looked more open due to the fact that each wall consisted of floor to ceiling windows.

"So what do you think?" Marissa looked nervous, obviously hoping to finally sell the house. They were standing in the hall downstairs having completed their tour of the house.

Remus and Sirius exchanged a quick glance, then they both nodded. "It's perfect," Sirius declared happily.

"Oh, thank God," Marissa sighed. "You have no idea how hard this place was to sell."

"How long do we have to wait before we can move in?" Remus asked.

Marissa blinked, then grinned and pulled out a key. "As soon as you want. I have the key right here. All we have to do in sign some papers and I'll need your bank account information. I have all the necessary forms in my car."

Sirius gave Remus a push in the realtor's general direction, knowing that his partner knew far more about muggle forms than he did. "Thank Merlin you convinced me to set up that muggle bank account," the animagus whispered into his lover's ear just before he left. He got a wink in return for his whisper and then they were gone.

Sirius sighed, turning away from the door and entered the living room. He knew that it was important that they saw the house before buying it but he wished they hadn't needed to leave the kids behind. As much as they were out of harms way (well, as much as they could be in Dumbledore's presence) now that the war was over, Sirius still didn't feel comfortable without them near him where he could protect them. He was sure that Remus felt the same. His lover could be extremely protective at times. And possessive.

Sirius jumped at the sudden feeling of arms around his waist and Remus chuckled into his lover's hair even as he inhaled the scent that was pure Sirius.

"We need furniture," Sirius said suddenly, his voice echoed in the empty room.

Remus made a vague questioning noise.

"For the house," Sirius elaborated. "It's completely empty. We need . . .stuff."

"Sirius, we can buy furniture later-"

"No," Sirius cut him off. The dark-haired man turned in his lovers arms to face him. "We need furniture. We need the house to be welcoming. We need it to be a home when Harry and the others. . . We need furniture," Sirius' voice trailed off as he buried his head into his the taller man's shoulder.

"Ok, Sirius," Remus said softly, stroked his mate's hair. "We'll get furniture."

A soft cough interrupted them for the second time in less than an hour but this time the two men didn't move apart. Remus looked at Marissa who looked embarrassed at their embrace, nevertheless she was taking it in her stride.

"I have your cell phone number," the realtor addressed Remus, who once again thanked Merlin for Hermione, "and I'll call you in a few days to confirm whether or not the money has gone through but hopefully there won't be any problems."

"Thank you," Remus replied, "however there is one more thing you could do for us."

At the woman's nod he continued, "Could you tell us where the nearest furniture store is?"

* * *

"Maybe leather? Black leather? But is that homey enough? It kinda screams sophisticated or something doesn't it? So maybe. . ."

Remus listened patiently as his lover rambled about what fabric their couch should have while dragging him through the parking lot towards the shop Marissa had given them directions to. What did it matter if it was leather or felt as long as it supported your weight when you sat on it? Remus didn't dare say this to his picky lover though. As much as Sirius attempted to distance himself for his biological family, there were certain things that he couldn't escape and like all Blacks, Sirius wanted the best of everything. It was something that Remus, who had survived on a very small amount of money after leaving school, just didn't understand.

However, the Black accounts were filled to the brim with Galleons, Sickles and Knuts. Add the compensation Sirius had received from the Ministry because of his false imprisonment and it left the animagus very well off. Remus had long ago given up attempting to persuade Sirius against giving him money as his lover would not be deterred. Sirius had convinced him before they left England to transfer a substantial amount of Galleons into muggle money, something that he was now very grateful for.

Sirius jumped when the automatic doors of the shop made a binging noise and slid open.

"How does it do that?" Sirius whispered anxiously to Remus.

Remus glanced at him and contemplated explaining technology to Sirius, then snorted derisively at the absurd idea and simply said, "It's a muggle thing."

Sirius didn't look satisfied with his answer, but they were approached by an eager looking salesman before he could reply.

"Can I help you?" His tone was polite but Remus saw the disdainful glance he cast at their joined hands and tightened his grip on his dark-haired mate.

Sirius was either ignoring the look or oblivious to it. Most likely the latter.

"We just bought a new house and we- well we need a lot of stuff."

The salesman's eyes lit up at the amount of money he would make from the commission of their sale. It appeared that his love of money overrode his homophobia.

"Well, we can certainly help with that. We have a large selection of furniture, all of which can be home delivered. . ."

Sirius soon tired of the man, whose tag labelled him as Adam and wandered off to where the beds were displayed. The beds were all fully made, giving customers a general idea of what they would look like. Every bed that caught Sirius eye was given an experimental bounce before being dismissed. Choosing his and Remus' bed was something that he was gone to take very seriously, live up to his namesake as it was, because he intended to spend a lot of time there in the not so distant future.

Remus had quickly discovered that despite his dislike of gay men, Adam knew exactly what he was doing. This store not only sold furniture, but carpets and tiles as well and provided service for fitting them.

"Remus. Remus!" Sirius bounded up to them with a large grin.

Remus bestowed his lover with a bemused smile and quickly found himself be dragged away.

"I found us the most perfect bed!"

Remus opened his mouth to reply but all that came out was a "Oof" as he was shoved down onto said bed. He immediately melted into the soft mattress which seemed to actually mould itself around his body. The animagus grinned at his lover's blissful look and sank down beside him.

It was a king sized four poster bed, no surprise there with Sirius having grown up in a Wizarding household where four poster beds were almost as common as house-elves. The framed of the bed was made of a dark wood, possibly oak**,** and had was finely furnished with elaborate carvings on the headboard and the posts.

"Trust you to pick the most expensive bed in the shop," Remus grumbled good-naturedly after he saw the price tag. Even so he snuggled down further into what Moony was quickly labelling as 'his' territory.

Sirius pouted and those huge, dark brown eyes on his lover and Remus immediately groaned. "I wasn't even going to try and persuade you to buy anything else so don't turned those Padfoot eyes on me."

Sirius gave a cheeky grin in reply and Remus' breath caught at the beauty of his mate. He didn't care what anyone said, Sirius Black was just as beautiful after Azkaban as he had been before he went in. The animagus began to flush at the feral look in his partner's eyes. Unfortunately, or not considering the fact that they were in public, Adam made his presence known again.

"I presume you have chosen this one?"

The bed was already decided on and soon a pair of bedside tables in the same wood were also chosen. There was no need for a wardrobe considering the large built-in closet in their room, but they still bought a chest of drawers and Sirius insisted on buying a vanity table. Remus merely stood by, watching his lover try to pick out the perfect one. No, Sirius was still as vain as he always was and Azkaban certainly hadn't changed that.

"What next?" Sirius asked eagerly after the _perfect _vanity table had been chosen.

"More beds," Remus replied. At Sirius blank look he elaborated. "For the kids."

"Right," Sirius nodded, then looked around thoughtfully before frowning. "But we have no idea what they want."

They had begun to manoeuvre their way through the beds as they were speaking and Remus leaned down to speak quietly to Sirius so as not to be overheard by the following salesman. "Why don't we buy the same bed for all of them and then let them transfigure it if they want something different?"

Sirius agreed that that was the best idea and they quickly decided on a double bed with a maple wood frame. They got bedside tables for each of the rooms as well as a chest of drawers with the same wood. It was decided that anything else their wards needed could be bought at a later date.

With the bedrooms finished with for now, they moved onto tables and chairs for the kitchen. The most difficult part here was finding a table that would fit everyone. They had gotten used to having most meals with the entire family everyday. It was a good chance to talk about the day and keep everyone close. It was also something that Sirius and Remus didn't want to change when they all moved to La Push. Eventually Remus convinced Sirius to settle on a large dining table that seated six after reminding Sirius that they could charm it to make it larger.

A sheepish Sirius and an amused Remus wandered into the area of the shop where the living room sofas and armchairs were displayed. The amount of people living in the house meant that they would need several sofas instead of merely one. Sirius personal dilemma over a leather sofa or a more 'homey' sofa was soon resolved when he discovered a combination between the two. It was a contrast of bi-cast leather and chenille. The outer frame of the couch was a stylish black leather, while the inside was made up of light grey, chunky chenille seat and back cushions. They bought two corner sofas, one ordinary two-seater sofa and three large comfortable armchairs all of the same design.

With all of the main furniture decided upon there was only the small things left. They picked mirrors for the bathrooms and bedrooms, a coffee table for the living room and a small table for the hall. When that was finished Sirius went along the shelves further in the store picking up cups, plates, bowls and cutlery for the kitchen. While he was happy to help Sirius pick out linen for the bed and curtains for the rooms, Remus decided to leave him to it when he started eyeing the paint cans in one aisle. Instead the werewolf wandered off, his attention captured by another item of furniture and after much deliberation he put two large, oak bookcases on the growing list of items to be delivered to their new house.

Sirius chuckled when he saw what his lover had ordered. "Two?" he laughed. "Between you, Hermione and Theo our family has the three biggest bookworms that ever attended Hogwarts!" He changed the two to a six with a quick wave of his hand and went off still chortling, leaving a frowning Remus behind him. He didn't have _that_ many books. Did he?

Finally after several hours, they were only minutes away from freedom and Remus can practically taste the fresh air again. All that was left was to order what carpets they wanted and the werewolf was leaving that in his lover's hands.

"No red or gold," was the only thing Remus warned, knowing that no matter how much Draco, Blaise and Theo had warmed up to the Gryffindor house, going up and down a scarlet covered stairs everyday would eventually drive them mad.

Though still sulking, Sirius had chosen a white carpet for the living room which, considering Ron's messy eating habits, might not have been the best plan. A dark blue carpet was chosen for the stairs and hallway and a dark red was chosen for their bedroom. Remus' stern look made Sirius smirk.

"What?" he defended. "It matches the hangings for our bed."

A gleeful Adam presented them with their bill when they were done and Remus signed their new address where required so that they would know where to deliver their furniture to.

"Someone should be out to put down your carpets tomorrow," Paul informed them happily. His behaviour towards them had warmed up considerably the more they bought.

Sirius hefted one of the boxes he was carrying over his shoulder while they walked towards the car. They were bringing the smaller things that bought with them as there was no need for the delivery men to take them. Once they were finished placing lamps, kitchenware, linen and curtains into the trunk of the car, Remus straightened up and locked the car again.

"We're not going home now?" Sirius asked, looking both disappointed and tired.

They had port keyed to Seattle this morning, rented a car there and had been driving since then.

"Not yet," Remus said, apologetically. He kissed Sirius in apology who quickly responded and opened his mouth eagerly to tangle his tongue with his lover's. Remus broke away and licked his lips at the sight of Sirius' flushed features and swollen lips.

"We just have one more place to go."

The sandy-haired man pulled a pliant Sirius into the electronics store, a few shops down from where they had just been. The animagus giggled at the automatic doors this time, but frowned when he saw what kind of shop he was in.

"Remus, what kind of place is this?" he hissed, proceeding to give the washing machine near him a suspicious look and sidled closer to the former professor.

"It's an electronics store." Remus sighed at Sirius' black stare. "Remember how I was telling you that muggles work things using electricity? Yes, well everything in here works that way and we need some of them."

"Why?"

"Because we're trying to fit it with muggles and the only thing we have in our house that's even _remotely_ muggle is a fridge. If anyone come into the house they're going to find that strange."

"Why would people be in our house? I don't want people in our house." He sounded petulant now and Remus rolled his eyes before looking at him.

"Sirius, we moved here to get a fresh start and hopefully, after a while, the kids will want to meet people, to make friends and maybe even to invite people back to their home."

Sirius grumbled a bit more, then reluctantly nodded. Remus wrapped an arm around his small waist and sighed to himself. Sometimes he wondered if Sirius had ever aged emotionally past the twenty year old he had been when he was thrown into Azkaban. His eyes were haunted and old far beyond their years, just like Harry and Theo's, but his demeanour was often still of a teenager who was just about to become an adult.

They were once again ambushed by a salesperson, a woman this time, who ran an appreciate eye over both, causing Sirius to tighten his grip around Remus' waist possessively. She merely grinned at their close stance.

Wonderful, Remus thought dryly, from homophobe to fan girl.

Sirius kept close to Remus as the taller man explained that they had just moved house. He did not trust one of those dish washy things to not start moving all of a sudden. They did that sometimes. Arthur Weasley had told him so.

Remus bought a dishwasher, a microwave, a kettle, a toaster and a number of other items they would probably never use. Wizards were very lazy considering. All this was done with Sirius hanging onto him, hand clenched firmly in his sweater. That was until they reached the televisions, where the same thing was playing on nearly every screen.

"The plasma screen really is the best. . ."

Remus eyed the large, black, flat television thoughtfully and frowned when he felt a tug at his sleeve.

"What is it Sirius?"

"Remus, there are-are people in that box," Sirius was looking at him with such a stricken expression that Remus nearly burst out laughing. He held it in however, feeling guilty when he remembered how long Sirius had been imprisoned in a small cell in Azkaban.

The saleswoman was staring at them in confusion.

"I'm sorry. He's a bit anti-social," Remus lied. "He doesn't get out much and technology freaks him out a bit. Could we have a minute alone please?"

The woman left quickly eyeing Sirius as warily as he had eyed the various machines in the store. It took fifteen minutes to convince Sirius that there wasn't any people trapped in the boxes and another ten to explain the actual idea of television. When he was finished Sirius was looking at the screens again, but this time with more curiosity than wariness now that he knew that Remus wasn't planning on buying some kind of muggle cage.

The saleswoman, who had been hovering idly nearby, returned when Remus gestured towards her. With her help Remus and a still rather reluctant Sirius bought a plasma screen television with a DVD player installed in it, as well as a Playstation 3. The sandy-haired man shot Sirius a quelling look when it appeared that he was going to ask what it was. In all honesty, Remus had no idea what it was. All he knew was that you could play games on it and that some teenagers enjoyed it. The fact that it game with two free games was an added bonus.

The two men carried the television in the box between them while the saleswoman followed them with the Playsation. Together they placed the large box into the backseat of the car while the games console was put in the trunk with everything

"Thank you," Remus replied and slipped some money into the young woman's hand before she returned to the store.

Sirius was already in the car with his seatbelt on when Remus slid into the driver's side.

"Can we go home now?" There was a definite whine in Sirius' voice now, but Remus himself felt exhausted so he didn't confront him about it.

A soft snore ten minutes later alerted Remus that his mate had fallen asleep. Snuffly noises escaped the ex-convict's mouth as he twisted in his seat before settling back down again, his head pressed against the window and long hair covering his face. A faint rumbling noise surprised Remus before he felt the twinge in his stomach and he smiled wryly. He and Sirius hadn't eaten since this morning and a hungry, tired Sirius was not a happy Sirius.

Remus deliberated stopping at a grocery shop or simply ordering take-out. Remembering that they were going to be staying in the house the next few days while the furniture arrived, it would make more sense if he stocked up on food now. He pulled up outside what looked like a promising store. It was small and inconspicuous, just like the shops Remus visited back in Britain. Very few people wanted a werewolf entering their store. It was bad for business.

Sirius was still in a deep sleep when Remus left the car and he was unwillingly to wake him. The former professor locked the car doors and placed several powerful protective charms around it. He was not taking any chances where his mate was concerned even if it was unlikely that they would be attacked in the muggle world.

The shop was just like Remus had imagined. Small and slightly cramped with just enough room to move between the rows of shelves. The employees seemed friendly enough though and pointed Remus in the direction of the steaks. He licked his lips happily at the thought. Moving quickly, he bought the essentials and was back at the car in less than fifteen minutes.

Sirius nose twitched when he got back into the car and one brown eye blinked open slowly.

"Food?"

Prepared, Remus held out a bag of potato chips, a mars bar and a can of soda before starting up the car again. The drizzling rain had started to become heavier and Remus turned on the radio to a what he believed was a rock station, before quickly changing it to the classical. Beside him Sirius has started to crunch away on his junk food, both eyes closed again and as soon as he was finished he drifted off again.

The werewolf sighed at his lover's ability to fall asleep anywhere even as they pulled up outside their new house. He gave the animagus a small shake to rouse him, then cast an Impenetrable Charm on both of them before stepping out into the rain. He took one look at the items in the trunk before waving his wand, transferring everything into the living room. Doing everything the muggle way was seriously overrated.

Once they were in the house it was agreed on that Remus would get a meal ready-magically while Sirius would transfigure their new toaster into a temporary bed. It would be uncomfortable no doubt, but it would have to do.

While the vegetables were chopping themselves, Remus pulled out his new cell phone and rang the first number in the contacts.

"Hello?" Hermione's soft voice answered.

"Hermione, it's Remus."

"Oh, hi Remus. How's Washington?"

"Very like Britain. Wet and cold."

Hermione giggled and then sighed. "We all miss you both already."

Remus' throat closed for a moment before he hoarsely replied, "We miss all of you as well. We've bought the house, but I'm afraid that we won't be home for a few days at least. Other things have to be sorted out."

Remus could hear noise in the background now and presumed Hermione was telling the rest of them about Remus and Sirius' delayed return home. "Take as long as you need. We know that you're doing this for all of us."

"How is everyone?"

"Fine. We just had breakfast. Well, some of us did. Blaise and Neville are still in bed. Professor McGonagall had to go back to Hogwarts to sort out something though."

The knife chopping the carrots spun dangerously as Remus froze. "She left Albus _alone_?"

"Um. . .yes? But it's alright. I'm keeping an eye on Harry and Professor Dumbledore. Honestly both of them are terrible influences. Mostly on each other."

Remus was panicking now. Harry left on his own was a shy, but powerful young man who simply needed some confidence. Dumbledore left on his own was a powerful and well meaning, if not slightly crazy, old man. The two of them together however, for some reason became mischievous and ill-behaved, coming up with the most insane of ideas.

"Wait, Harry I don't think that's such a good idea," Hermione shrieked. "I saw that in a movie once and- no Ron don't . . . never mind. . ."

"Hermione?" Remus absently waved his wand and the chopped vegetables went flying into the saucepan that was hovering over the oven.

"Uh. . . everything is fine. . . I think. Harry and the Headmaster just found some of Fred and George's fireworks and convinced Ron and Draco to set one off. . . inside the kitchen."

"What?" Remus gestured at Sirius, who had just entered the kitchen, to set the table for their food.

"I'll call you back later Remus," Hermione sounded rather anxious now. "Don't worry, the kitchen will be as good as new by the time you get back. Give our love to Sirius."

Incredulous, Remus stared at the cell phone in his hand, the dialling tone it admitted indicating that Hermione had hung up.

Dear Merlin, what the hell had they been thinking, leaving Albus Dumbledore minding teenagers?

"Everything alright?" Sirius had dished out their dinner and was already digging in.

"Albus and Harry," Remus replied as though it answered everything.

"Ah." It did.

When they entered their bedroom a half an hour later, Remus was relieved to see the transfigured bed already made up with their new linen. He blinked rapidly when Sirius bit his lip sensuously and took a hold of Remus' belt loops. The animagus slowly pressed his entire body against his lover's and licked a trail from the taller man's collar bone to his strong jaw line.

"I thought," Sirius whispered into his left ear, then tugged on the lobe with his teeth, "that on our first night here," he peppered kisses across Remus' cheek, "we should commemorate it," he unfastened his lover's belt and moaned when two strong hands clenched on his waist, "by christening," a whimper as Remus' hand dived beneath his loose slacks and grabbed hold of two, firm butt cheeks, "our bedroom," he finished with a strangled gasp as a calloused finger stroked over his hole.

"I couldn't agree more," Remus growled. He removed his hands from Sirius' pants and grabbed his thighs to lift him up. Their mouths connected in a tangle of teeth and tongues when the animagus wrapped his legs tightly around Remus' waist.

Sirius cried out muffledly when his trapped erection rubbed against Remus' firm stomach as they walked towards the bed and he squirmed in his mate's hold to get more of the feeling. They tumbled to the bed intertwined, panting for air as their mouths separated. The sandy-haired man knelt between Sirius' widespread thighs and hot flash of desire and love heated his stomach when he stared at those flushed cheeks and the rapidly rising chest.

"What do you want?" Remus asked, running a hand down the inside of Sirius thigh until he reached his straining arousal which he began to caress.

The dark head was flung back in passion, hair spread out over pale blue sheets and his hips rose in a plea for more.

"Remus. . ." Sirius keened, his eyes tightly shut at the intense, burning feeling.

"What do you want Sirius?" The hand rubbing him was firmer now and it felt so good.

"I want- I want you to make- oh," Sirius whimpered as his zipper was drawn down and a hand delved inside his pants.

"Say it."

"I want you to make love to me," it came out in a rush and with it came a bright red flush.

Remus smirked even as he leaned down to cover those pouting lips with his own once again and his hands yanked both pants and boxers down in one fluid movement. "Of course, Sirius."

* * *

A loud knocking sound woke Sirius the next day. The weight around his chest and the warmth against his back were both familiar. Remus. He opened his eyes and blinked in confusion, before groaning at the sunlight that temporarily blinded him. Merlin, why hadn't he hung up the curtains last night? He rolled away from the warmth of his lover and the covers, then whimpered when the slight ache in his lower back made itself noticeable. Oh, that's why.

The noise that had woken him began again and Sirius staggered to his feet, looking around blearily for the clothes that had been tossed away carelessly in the midst of their vigorous encounter last night. He tripped over something and recognised it as Remus' shirt. Ah well, it would do. Finding a pair of pants was more difficult, but he eventually located his own under the bed. With a quick glance back to confirm that his partner was still sleeping undisturbed, which he was, Sirius hurried downstairs to answer the door.

There was a tall man with a mop of curly, auburn hair standing on the other side of the door and his expression indicated that he was annoyed. It cleared soon after Sirius answered.

"Sorry. I was a bit mad, thought they had given me the wrong address," his voice was gruff and reminded Sirius of Hagrid, although he was rather confused about who the man was.

Obviously, seeing his puzzled look the man elaborated. "I'm Thomas Weber, Tom for short. We were supposed to put down carpet in your house today?"

"Already?" Sirius asked, even as he stifled a yawn.

The man grinned at him. "You two spent a small fortune in that shop yesterday from what the gossip's saying. They wanted to do everything possible to make sure their customers stay happy."

Sirius returned the grin, albeit more weakly. Merlin, he was tired. "Come on in then," Sirius beckoned.

Tom yelled out a name that sounded something like Chris and another man jumped out of the van parked in the front of the house that Sirius had only just seen. Both men whistled when they caught sight of the inside of the house.

"Jesus, looks like a mansion," Tom said admiringly, and Sirius smiled proudly.

They followed him into the living room where Sirius told them the white carpet was to go.

"Hope you don't have any kids," Chris grunted, glancing around the sparse room. "Not with a colour like that. It'll be black in a few days."

Sirius grinned at the thought. "Nope, no small kids. Seven teenagers though."

"Seven teenagers?" Tom whistled sharply. "I have one, a girl and she's quiet enough. Can't imagine having seven."

"They're all adopted," Sirius replied, while leading then out to the hall and stairs where he wanted the blue carpet.

"You and your husband adopt them all?" Sirius could hear no maliciousness in his voice and was grateful for that. He presumed that people had spoke about them after they left the shop yesterday.

"Yes," his reply was still short.

Tom and Chris merely nodded and after asking them politely whether they wanted anything to drink, Sirius left them to go make breakfast. As much as he agreed with Remus about giving their charge a fresh start and learning to live like a muggle there was just some things that Sirius was not prepared to do. Attempting to make coffee in that muggle machine was one of them. So after casting a Muggle Repelling charm at the door, he set about making fried eggs, sausages and bacon as well as coffee in a decidedly magical fashion.

Tom and Chris had returned from the van with a large roll of white carpet and were talking when he came back into the living room after finishing breakfast. From all the muggle equipment they had with them, Sirius could see that it was not as easy as he had thought to put down a carpet. After informing them that there was coffee and food in the kitchen if they wanted it, he left them to it.

Bearing a cup of coffee and breakfast was probably the best way to wake a tired werewolf up. Well, second best, a good blowjob undoubtedly came first. Sirius set the tray of food and cup down by the bed while he sat on the end of the bed and gazed at his lover. The other man must have been exhausted if he slept through the knocking on the door and the smell of food, especially with his enhanced werewolf senses.

Brushing a stray strand of hair away from his mate's forehead, Sirius' bent over and placed a soft kiss on the slightly wrinkled brow. He pulled back to see a pair of sleepy amber eyes blinking at him and he leaned forward again for a kiss, ignoring both their morning breath.

"I bought you breakfast," Sirius panted when he pulled back.

"I'd much rather have you for breakfast," Remus growled, pulling Sirius towards him but the other man shook his head.

"Sorry, no can do. The men who are supposed to put in the carpet are already here and I don't think they'd appreciate your sex noises."

"_My _sex noises?" Remus gaped even as he accepted the offered food. "You're the loud one."

Sirius merely hummed, pulling open the small suitcase he had brought with him. Having not realised that they were staying any longer than a day, he had brought only a small amount of clothes with him. Grumbling he pulled out a pair of jeans and a black sweater and disappeared into the bathroom where the sound of a shower running were soon heard.

"Remus."

Said man looked up at the sound of his name only to gasp at the sight of a naked Sirius standing in the doorway of the bathroom.

"Maybe if your quick eating your breakfast, you could join me in the shower." With a wicked grin and a lewd sway of his hips Sirius departed back into the bathroom, with an eager werewolf hot on his heels, toast still in his mouth.

* * *

"How's it going?" Tom and Chris both raised their heads at the sound of Remus' voice.

"Not too bad. It's pretty much a square room, not many corners so it's not that difficult. Stairs are another matter altogether."

Remus laughed at that and introduced himself to the men who returned the favour. He left them to their work and followed his nose, which told him that his mate was in the spare room, where he had transferred all their purchases the night before.

"I thought we might as well put everything where it should be." Sirius was sitting in the middle of their various possessions. "And then we could paint the hall and stairs." Remus agreed and soon they were settled in the kitchen where Sirius was happily deciding what was going where. The taller of the two was happy to sit on the counter, sipping coffee and watching his other half bustle around the kitchen. He had quickly got the hang of the microwave, having already known how to use a toaster and a kettle.

"Not interrupting are we?"

Tom and Chris were standing awkwardly in the doorway.

Remus smiled in greeting. "Break time?" At their nods, he held up the still warm coffee pot.

Sirius waved absently in their direction, opening a drawer to put in dishtowels, humming a Weird Sisters song while he did so.

"Do you have any idea when our furniture will be arriving?" Remus asked Chris who was drinking the magically made coffee with a blissful expression on his face.

The man shrugged and smirked at him. "In the next day or two I'd say. You two made quite an impression with the amount of money you spent."

"Always did like making an impression," Sirius laughed. The other men joined him in.

"How's the living room coming?"

"Fine. It's slow work, but it always is."

Their lunch was soon over and while Chris and Tom returned to the living room, Sirius and Remus gathered up the cans of pale blue paint they were painting the hall and stair wall, in addition to the paintbrushes the had bought and the sheets they had conjured to protect the floors from splatters.

"I hate painting," Sirius moaned, clutching his aching arm after an hour of the activity.

Remus chuckled at his misfortunate mate, who slapped his arm indignantly.

"Don't laugh at me. I'm not a muggle. I'm not used to such difficult labour!" Sirius blew his hair out of his eyes. Then turned thoughtfully to Remus who had returned to painting. The animagus licked his lips and slowly ran a hand over the other man's arm. The werewolf rolled his eyes when he felt Sirius press his chest against his back.

"We could always use a Sticking charm on the paint."

"No." But Remus shivered at the hand rubbing across his stomach.

"Please." A belt undone, a zip pulled down.

"Sirius. . ." the warning was half-hearted at best. A hand grasped his hard cock and stroked.

"Chris and Tom are. . ."

"I don't like you saying other men's names when I'm giving you a hand job."

Remus moaned when a warm hand stroked him, starting slow and then speeding up as his breath quickened. A second hand reached around to cup his balls and Sirius rubbed his own hard on against his mate's ass.

"Faster." The hand around him tightened and sped up, stroking his arousal in hard, fast tugs.

Sirius whimpered in the back of his throat, stimulating his erection by rubbing it against his lover's cloth clad butt. They came almost simultaneously. Remus stifled his groan with his fist as he erupted over the hand fondling his and Sirius bit the shoulder in front of him, coming inside his pants.

Several cleaning charms and one happily cast sticking charm later and Sirius was sprawled happily on their new carpet while Remus said goodbye to Chris and Tom. Thankfully, neither man had noticed anything about the speed in which the hall and stairs had been painted. The living room was finished and the two men would return tomorrow to start on the stairs and hall.

Sirius sighed as he curled further into the soft carpet. He would really love a bone right now, but Remus would probably be back to scold him about that impromptu hand job any minute. The black-haired wizard couldn't wait until his kids were here. Remus tended to be too distracted when they were around to give out to him.

* * *

"No, we can't do this tomorrow Sirius," Remus replied to his lover's question. "We should have done this yesterday."

Sirius allowed himself to be dragged into a small wooden cabin which they had been told members of the tribal council could be found.

"Can I help you?"

Remus looked towards the speaker. A tall man, in his late fifties or early sixties. Weathered russet skin and a mane of silvery-grey hair made fro a striking image and the werewolf immediately stretched out his hand.

"Good evening, sir. My name is Remus Black-Lupin and this is my husband Sirius."

Sirius, who was examining a long, wooden spear in a glass case with keen interest, waved absently towards the native man who's lips quirked in a small smile.

He took Remus' hand and shook. "Pleased to meet you. Names Harry Clearwater."

"Cool," Sirius exclaimed, bounding over, "my godson's names is Harry."

Remus barely withheld a groan. "Excuse him." He tried to smile at Harry but felt it came out more like a grimace. "He has yet to grow up."

Sirius' protest was drowned out by Harry's deep chuckling. "Its good to see men keeping their enthusiasm all the way through life. It should be encouraged."

"I like him," Sirius whispered.

"Now, how can I help you gentlemen?"

Sirius shook his hand as well. "We've recently bought a house in La Push," he explained, "except we didn't know it was on a Quileute reservation. We thought we might need permission from the tribe if we wanted to stay here?"

Harry frowned thoughtfully and rubbed his chin. "Well, we don't usually have pale-faces living on our land," he winked at them, "but my son was one of the boys you met yesterday, Seth," both wizards recalled a bouncing, grinning boy, "and he told me that you've bought Old Willow."

"That's right," Remus confirmed. "We have seven adopted children so we needed a big house and it fitted all our needs. We were hoping that. . ."

"You could stay here?" Harry smiled knowingly. "I don't see any problems with it. If any complaints come to us, we'll hear both side of the stories. If your family respects our culture and land then I see no reason that anyone might object to your moving here. Especially since you bought the Old Willow."

Remus and Sirius both breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much," Sirius replied happily.

"No worries. And remember if your having any problems to come to us and we'll see what we can do."

"Will do. Thank you again."

The two wizards headed out of the cabin in good humour, unaware of the way Harry's eyes narrowed and lingered on the back of Remus' head.

* * *

_Thanks so much to everyone who reviews, favourited and alerted A Curious Nature. I'm glad your all enjoying it!_

_Reviews are much appreciated, I'd love to hear your thoughts! *hugs*_


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary:** For the Black-Lupin family, Forks is a second chance at life and at love for a group of war-damaged teenagers and their parents. Post-War. Harry/Jacob

**Pairings:** Harry Potter/Jacob Black, Remus/Sirius, Draco/Seth, Theo/Embry, Hermione/Blaise, Ron/Neville.

**Category:** Harry Potter/Twilight

**Genre:** Romance/Family

**Rating:** M/NC-17

**Warnings:** Mature themes, slash, gay (male/male) relationships, some angst, drama, gay sex, crossover, canon for books one to four and AU after that.

**Author's note: **So a little bit of information out their to all my reader (which by the way is a _lot_ according to the favourites, alerts and review I've been getting) this story is roughly set during the New Moon timeline. Bella had come to Forks but she never went out with Edward nor is she going to (have some plans there). The Cullens did however kill James because of some territory disputes and Victoria _is _seeking vengeance. I think that's about it for the moment, so read and enjoy! :D

* * *

"I can do this. I _will _do this." Sirius was pacing. "I can be a muggle. It's not that hard." Pause. "Ok, maybe it is a bit hard, but what's the big deal. I mean really? So it's hard work and my back will ache and I'll probably get splinters." Starts pacing again. "Splinters. You can deal with that Sirius, you dealt with Azkaban for twelve years for the love of Merlin." Random kick at a box. "Why do muggles like boxes so much anyway? Merlin, everything is in a box. Food and beds and people." Sirius was now ranting. "Doing stuff the muggle way is seriously over-rated!" Sirius had lost his mind.

These were Remus' observations from where he was standing unnoticed by the living room door, watching his lover pacing and ranting. It looked like Sirius had finally cracked and the reason for the loss of sanity that had been kept even when he was in Azkaban? A room full of boxes that held their furniture.

They had been at the Old Willow for three days now. Yesterday, a large truck had delivered their sofas, armchairs and the tables and chairs for the kitchen along with a number of large paintings that Remus couldn't even remember seeing in the store let alone buying. Sirius had been delighted about the arrival and was determined to fix up everything they way he had pictured it. While his mate was busy Remus had decided to paint their bedroom(the muggle way) and Chris and Tom got started on the hall and stairs. By the end of the day everyone was exhausted, but satisfied.

Today had gone much the same. Remus had 'persuaded' Sirius to help him paint the kitchen a pale blue, shutting him up with kisses every time he started to complain so that Sirius only remembered what he had been saying about twenty minutes later. At which point Remus would simply kiss him again. Tom and Chris had arrived early in the morning and were finished the rest of the stairs and the master bedroom by the afternoon. The wizards had thanked both men, tipped them generously and waved them goodbye.

It was shortly after this that the 'incident' occurred. Another truck, which they had been anticipating all day, arrived. Sirius had been busy complaining about the paint on his clothes, so the werewolf had left him in the bathroom and went to let the delivery men in. They had carried in over a dozen boxes of different shapes and sizes, containing the beds they had bought as well as the bookcases, the chest of drawers and some of the smaller tables Sirius had chosen.

Remus had followed the men back outside to sign a form stating that they had received their furniture. He had returned to find a clean Sirius, who had clearly expected the rest of the furniture to come fully put together just like the rest of it had been, throwing a temper tantrum worthy of his mother.

Bracing himself the wizard stepped gingerly into the room and approached his, normally quite sound, mate as he would a sleeping dragon. Sirius whirled around to face him and gestured frantically behind him, his hair swaying wildly with the motion.

"Look," he moaned. "Boxes! Muggles are so lazy. We bought beds. Not wood and nails and pieces of paper with instructions that nearly always never work. Arthur told me so."

"And how do you suppose they were going to transport eight beds and mattresses in a truck?" Remus pointed out reasonably.

Sirius gaped at his mate, then glanced behind him miserably. "I suppose we better get started then."

Together they levitated the boxes with the uncompleted beds up the stairs, leaving the mattresses behind for the time being. A well placed severing charm took care of the thick cellophane holding the boxes closed. Remus attempted to hide his own trepidation as he took in the task he had set himself up for in making the bed. And there was seven more to go after this.

With the pieces set out and the various screws and bolts needed beside them, the sandy-haired man turned his attention to the instruction in front of him, before blinking in confusion.

"That's French," Sirius pointed out helpfully from behind him.

Remus flipped over the page. "German." There was a definite grin in his voice now and the werewolf growled and turned the page again. "That's-"

"It's Italian! I know! Finally, English." Remus ignored his snickering mate as he quickly scanned the instructions.

"Alright. It says that part A has to be connected to part B, which is the middle board between part D and part e."

"Where does part C come in?"

"Never mind. Let's just work on the letters we have."

Ten minutes later, Remus let out a frustrated snarl and kicked the two long planks of wood which were certainly _not _suppose to be connected, though the instructions said otherwise.

"Stupid-broken-piece-of-shit-" Every word was punctuated with a fierce kick to the offending boards.

"Feel better?" Sirius wondered from over by the window where he was making a fort with the wood Remus had not been using. He had given up on helping about two minutes in.

"I say we use it as fire wood."

Sirius hummed non-committedly, carefully laying the last board on top of the others. He grinned happily at his success before frowning and looking around. "I need a moat." He began to stroke his wand thoughtfully.

Remus shook his head at his mate and turned away from the animagus mutterings, aiming a final kick at his failed attempt at making a bed. "Useless, broken- ow!"

Remus cried out at the blinding pain in his head and fell heavily to the ground. A sharp, piecing pain ran from his left ear to his forehead. Carefully, he touched the injury and winced at the warm, wetness that came off on his fingers. Blood.

"Merlin, Remus. Are you ok? I'm so sorry!"

"Sirius?" His words were slurred and he vaguely heard a muttered curse before a hot, fuzzy sensation in his head distracted him. It felt familiar. .

A minute later he was blinking away white spots as the pain receded and the nausea that had slowly begun to build in his stomach disappeared. He staggered to his feet with Sirius arm around his waist, confusion taking the place of pain. What had happened? It felt like he had been his over the head by a plank of. . .

"Sirius!"

The wizard in question blanched. "I'm sorry, Remus. I didn't mean to, well I mean I did mean to cast the spell, but I didn't mean for you to get hurt I-I. . ."

Remus anger disappeared at the tears he heard in his mate's voice and he whirled around to see what exactly it was Sirius had done. He gawked in astonishment at the huge four poster bed standing in the middle of the room. It seemed even more magnificent in their room, against the dark red background, than it had in the store.

"What did you _do_?"

Sirius relaxed at the shock and delight in his partner's voice, though the guilt from having hit him over the head was still making his hands shake and his vision blur slightly. He was amazed he had managed to perform a healing charm effectively on the werewolf's head.

"Well, I just heard you say the word broken, so I um- cast _Reparo_. I didn't think anything with actually happen and I definitely didn't think that the wooden board beside you would come soaring airborne towards you. I am sorry. Effective though," he added with a self-satisfied grin, gesturing towards their bed.

Remus rolled his eyes at the smugness lacing those tones. "So you cast a spell on muggle supplies, having no idea what might happen?"

Sirius deflated slightly. "Well. . . Yeah. But look!" He seemed intent on indulging in his triumph. "Now we don't have to spend ages looking at those funny looking diagrams only to discard them and attempt to try to figure it out ourselves."

Remus raised an eyebrow and Sirius shrugged. "Arthur says its something that muggle men seem to do a lot, like a hobby or something. I dunno."

"But don't you think it would be more worthwhile if we actually put them together ourselves. You know, get a sense of accomplishment when they're done and we know that did it without any help from magic."

Sirius gave him a look he felt that statement deserved. "No, I think I'll get a huge sense of accomplishment when I finish this in about an hour instead of a day and get to go home to my children."

It was clear from the furrow above his eyebrows that Sirius always got when he was determined that Remus would not be able to persuade him otherwise. Besides the idea had merit. The werewolf was also missing his adopted children.

Remus left his mate happily waving his wand in their room, while he opened the boxes in the other rooms. As reluctant as he was to admit it, Remus knew that without Sirius' accidental discovery he would never have been able to put together these beds. He grinned as he heard Sirius singing a Weird Sisters' song extremely off tune. It had been a long time since he had heard his mate so joyful and he could only hope that the move would prove helpful to their children as well.

* * *

"Draco, have you seen my jeans?"

"Which ones?"

"The black ones."

"Which black ones?"

"The ones with the pattern on the pockets."

"You mean the sequins?"

"They are not sequins! They're diamond thingies."

"Yeah, sure. I think I saw them in Theo's room."

"What the hell are they doing in there?" Harry muttered to himself, ending his shouted conversation with Draco, who was in another room. He stuffed the Weasley jumper he was holding in his hand into his trunk, then left the room he shared with Ron.

Theo and Blaise's room was only slightly less chaotic than his own. There were clothes strewn on the floor and the beds and there also appeared to be a sock hanging from the chandelier. Theo himself was crouched on the ground with one arm and his head under the bed, muttering furiously to himself.

Harry lay down on the other side of the bed and peered across the dark, dusty floor to where Theo was patting the ground with his hand. Harry placed his head on his crossed arms for a moment, then tilted his head slightly when Theo swore.

"Uh. . . What are you doing?"

"I'm looking for my eagle quill."

A slight paused ensued.

"Under the bed?"

"Yes, under the bed," was the snarled response.

"Oookkaayy."

Another paused ensued, followed by a sigh.

"Harry, what do you want?""Have you seen my black jeans? The ones Sirius bought me for my birthday?"

"The one with the sequins?"

"No! The one with the pattern on the back pockets."

"That's what I said and no I haven't seen them. I'll tell you if I do though."

Harry took one last glance at the fervently searching hand before hoisting himself up and leaving the room, stepping carefully over what looked like a squashed piece of Cockroach Cluster. He stood in the hall for a minute, trying to remember where in the hell he had put those jeans. The last time he had worn them was three days ago, the day after Sirius and Remus had left but he hadn't seen them since then. Shrugging and deciding against going back into his room, where the likelihood of tripping over clothes or stepping on dropped food seemed rather high at the moment, Harry decided to continue down the hall.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit. . ."

The mantra was coming from Neville and Draco's room and Harry pushed open the door to see both of them leaping and jumping around a fire in the middle of the room, while waving their arms up and down. The black-haired wizard stood uncertainly in the doorway, torn between the urge to run for help or laugh at how ridiculous they looked.

"Uh. . . Have you two decided to join some kind of Wiccan cult that practices dancing around the fire rituals or should I call for help?"

Both head shot up when he spoke.

"Harry," Neville called, relief clear in his voice. "Can you put this out please?"

Harry nodded and waved his hand over the fire, quickly extinguishing it. Before they had left Sirius and Remus had forbade them from using magic except for emergencies and had warded the house to prevent. While Remus had done it to help them prepare for moving to the muggle world, Harry suspected that Sirius merely found it amusing. The wards however, didn't work against wandless magic which only Harry and Blaise could do.

Harry grinned at his panting friends, it was always amusing to see the impeccable Draco Malfoy looking so dishevelled.

"What were you doing?"

Draco sniffed haughtily. "_I _wasn't doing anything." He stomped over to the mirror and began to brush the ash marks from his clothes.

Neville smiled sheepishly. "I kinda decided to burn my potion's books."

Harry blinked, then burst out laughing. He gasped as he sank back onto Neville's bed. He could hear Draco chuckling with him.

"It was pretty funny at the start," Draco agreed. "I even encouraged him a bit. But that book was meant to burn. It just went up in flames and we didn't really think about all the clothes we had left around, so it started to spread. Thanks for putting it out."

"No problem," Harry grinned. "I wish I had thought of burning my Divination books. It would have been much more satisfying than throwing them in the bin."

Neville mumbled his agreement as he sat on the bed beside Harry. Draco looked at them curiously.

"You know I never took Divination. Between Care of Magical Creatures and Arithmancy I never had time. I was never interested in the subject, I mean why would I want to know what's going to happen in the future? I'd much rather concentrate on the present."

Harry gave Draco a soft smile. Very few people could see past Draco's artificial outer shell and see the wonderful person he was beneath. The Gryffindor himself had been one of them for a long time, but it was times like these that Draco really reminded him of how insightful he could be.

"What was it like? Trelawney's class?" Draco inquired while he deftly folded his clothes and carefully put them in his trunk. Something Harry would never have had the patience to do.

Neville snorted. "Ridiculous. She put incense everywhere, so it was really hard to concentrate. Mind you that's probably why some of us saw anything at all. We were probably hallucinating. She usually shouted at us to broaden our minds and to use our inner eye. She seemed to delight in telling Harry-" Neville cut himself of abruptly and looked embarrassed. Draco glanced at Harry whose was sitting very stiff on the bed and whose cheery demeanour had disappeared.

"She delighted in telling me when I was going to die and how. Guess she was wrong huh?" Harry laughed a harsh, bitter laugh that made the other two wince. "I didn't die. I just caused everyone around me to."

"Harry, that is not true," Draco crossed the room in three strides and knelt before the other wizard. "No one's death was your fault. Your parents' death occurred when you were a baby. Cedric died because a man you let live betrayed you. The deaths of the people in the war happened because they were trying to protect their world and their families against an insane murderer."

Harry felt his breath catch in his throat as his friend defended him fiercely. Draco's hands cradled his own, and Neville's arm wrapped around his back.

"You sacrificed everything for this world. You gave up your chance at a childhood to fight for people you had never even met. I watched you take curse after curse and hex after hex and you never gave up. And I was honoured to fight beside you."

Harry gave a small gasp and felt a single tear slip down his cheek, he lunged forward and wrapped his arms around the blond boy's neck, burying his face into a shoulder.

Draco's hand rubbed soothing circles on the small of his back and Harry fought the burning behind his eyes, revelling in the comfort he had been deprived of in his early years. He had quickly become accustom to the friendly hugs or touches from his adopted family in the last year and had even begun to initiate them himself.

Harry pulled back slowly and sat back on the bed beside Neville, who had remained a quiet but comforting presence during their embrace.

"Sorry," Harry mumbled, rubbing his face quickly.

"No-"

"-apologising," Harry finished Draco's sentence for him, used to everybody's correction of his and Theo's habit of apologising for no reason.

"You don't have to apologise to us for showing emotion. You've often comforted us when we've needed it. Why shouldn't we do the same?"

Harry didn't answer what he knew was a rhetorical question and a comfortable silence fell when the blond began to fold and pack his clothes again.

"My jeans wasn't it Theo's room," Harry informed him.

"It wasn't? Then I haven't a clue where it is."

"Which jeans?" Neville inquired as he poked his foot at the remains of his still smoking potions book.

"The black ones. With the pattern on the back."

"Oh, the one with the sequins?"

"What? No! They're not sequins!"

"Yes, they are," the two chorused.

Harry growled and bolted off the bed and into the hall slamming the door as he went, which cut off their chuckles.

"They are not sequins!" Harry mumbled to himself. "Sequins are girly! These are manly patterns. Crystals. Rocks. The total opposite of girly."

Harry was glad for something to distract him from what had happened in the bedroom. Breakdowns like that were quite common when living in a house full of teenaged, war veterans, but the ex-saviour still hated when they happened to him. When it was someone else he could do something about it. He could offer comfort or sympathetic words, but when it was him the feeling was overwhelming.

During the day it was easier to cope with the feelings, to suppress the memories, especially when you were surrounded by comfort and love. But at night when it was dark and cold, and there was no distractions, the memories always came back. The sound of screaming, sobbing and yelling. The smell of blood, dirt and tears. The feeling of pain, hatred, and always fear. Overwhelming, constant, gut-wrenching fear. It was crushing and frightening. To witness the deaths of loved ones, of strangers, of enemies over and over again. To wake up screaming, throat hoarse and eyes sore because you had been crying in your sleep.

The only reason Harry went to sleep at all at night was because when he woke up he knew there would be somebody there. It didn't matter who, but there was always someone, sometimes several someones. Often they all merely crowded into the same room, finding space where they could simply because it would save time rather than walking from one room to another. On the rare occasions that he did sleep peacefully he was woken by somebody else's cries. Sometimes it was Hermione's cries for her parents, or Theo's sobs about that bastard Greyback, or even Sirius' screams about Azkaban.

Harry yelped when he suddenly found himself crashing to the floor and coughed at the dust that drifted into his mouth. He lifted himself onto his knees and glared at the reason for his fall. Crookshanks. The flat-face cat was sitting in the middle of the hallway looking rather displeased that Harry had tripped over it. It sent him a menacing glare that almost had Harry shivering before it returned it's attention to the prey it had captured between it's paws.

Harry looked closer and immediately released that it wasn't a mouse or a rat. Actually, it looked kind of like a feather. An eagle feather. . . Oh, shit. Theo was not going to be happy about that. The dark-haired wizard glanced from Crookshanks sharp claws to the rather bedraggled looking quill and decided against a rescue attempt. From what he could see it was already damaged beyond repair. Ah well, if Theo found out he would plead ignorance.

Content, to leave the cat to it's. . .treat, Harry got to his feet and walked off. Dodging on the second floor the black-haired entered the sitting room a few minutes later where he could hear Ron and Blaise shouting. He hurried in, worried that they might be fighting again. Ron and Blaise seemed to have a love/hate relationship in Harry's opinion. They spent days where they were joined at the hip laughing, pranking the rest of them and wrestling each other. The other days were spent at each other's throats arguing about the smallest thing, to whether the Chudley's Cannons or the Wisbourne Wasps were the better Qudditch team to who looked better in blue.

Harry often found their relationship confusing and hard to follow so he merely left them to it most of the time, wary of getting involved in their alpha male contest. He thought part of it might because Blaise had a crush on Hermione, but Ron had quickly denied this when he asked him about it. He admitted that he no longer fancied Hermione and wasn't sure if he ever had and Blaise and he merely enjoyed annoying each other too much to be friendly all the time.

Today however, appeared to be a love day because Harry found the two wizards playing wizard's darts. Wizard's darts was something that Blaise and Draco had introduced them to and that Harry had quickly found a lot more enjoyable than wizarding chess. His love for the game was somewhat tampered by that fact that Ron still bet him. The game was almost exactly like muggle darts apart from the fact that the numbers on the circular board were replaced by images of well-known people's heads. A panel beside the dart board counted up the scores of each player.

"Yeah," Ron shouted raising his arms in the air in triumph when one of his darts landed on Kingsley Shacklebolt's(the new Minister of Magic) face who was set near the middle.

"Shut up and throw the other one." Blaise's handsome face was shaped into a scowl and a quick glance at the scoreboard showed Harry why. Ron was winning by a large margin.

"Hey Harry." Blaise scowled left and he grinned at the other boy. It returned rapidly at Ron's victory dance, which involved a great deal of waving arms and swivelling hips.

"You haven't won yet, asshole," Blaise muttered, shoving Ron as he aimed his own dart.

Ron threw an arm around Harry who wrinkled his nose at the smell of sweat permitting from his adopted brother.

"Damn Ron. You smell like you've run a mile or something." Harry quickly darted out from under his arm and took refuge in the clean-smelling air about a foot away.

"Darts is hard work," Ron defended.

"It's hardly Quidditch," Harry pointed out wryly.

"Hey! Darts takes a lot of concentration. A lot of upper arm work. Its all in the shoulder you know. Not as easy as it looks."

"Uh-huh."

Ron frowned at his disbelieving down, then grinned at Harry's smile and reached out a hand to ruffled his messy chin-length hair. Grumbling, Harry fought against the hand making his hair even more messy than it already was.

"Yessss!" Blaise yell had the other two turning their heads.

"What?" Ron asked warily.

Harry decided to leave them to their sweaty, upper arm building game and opened his mouth to speak.

"How the hell did you get Dumbledore? You cheated! And while my back was turned too. How could you?"

"I did not."

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Hey"!

Both turned simultaneously towards the source of shouting. Harry.

"Before you two continue your. . .argument, I was wondering have either of you seen my black jeans? You know the ones Sirius bought me for my birthday."

They turned to face each other and raised an eyebrow, before shrugging at the same time. Harry wanted to complain about their silent communication, but knew that they got just as frustrated when he did the same thing with Theo. After a minute they faced him again and spoke in unison.

"You mean the sparkly ones?"

"The girly ones?"

Harry closed his eyes and when he opened them he spoke through gritted teeth. "They are not sparkly and they are not girly. They are diamonds and they happen to be very manly.

Blaise snorted and Ron chuckled good-naturedly before returning to their disagreement.

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

Harry rolled his eyes and shook his head at the arguing boys whose voices faded slightly when he entered into the kitchen. At first Harry thought it was empty, the lack of lights apart from a flickering bulb in the ceiling made it difficult for him to see the entire room. But a small noise at the table made him squint until he made out Hermione's form. She was sitting cross-legged at the table with a book in one hand and pencil in the other.

The dark-haired wizard knew better to interrupt his studious friend when she was reading a book so he settled himself on one of the chairs and began to softly hum a muggle song. It was a habit he had developed during the war after Hermione introduced him to the wonders of rock'n'roll. For some reason he found it very soothing and had taken to doing it when he had an anxiety attacks.

"Harry," Hermione's annoyed voice called. "Stop humming Nirvana's Teen Spirit and tell me what you want."

Harry opened his eyes and feigned a wounded look. "Well, that's nice. If you don't want me, your best friend here, then I'm sure I can find somewhere else to go. . ."

Hermione laughed at his teasing, but Harry could see the circles under her eyes and not for the first time in the past few day he worried about the strain this move was putting her under. The dark-haired wizard knew that the move to the Unites States would truly be the best for all of them and they had all been thrilled when Remus and Sirius had tentatively suggested it.

To get away from the Wizarding World would be a blessing in disguise. Here they were constantly reminded of the war through visits by the Order, or letters of thanks or otherwise from survivors. Or the newspapers and journalists who were constantly hounding them and who had gone so far as to send Theo a picture of Fenrir Greyback during breakfast in the Great Hall in hopes of getting a reaction out of him. They had succeeded in that case and Theo had been confided to bed for almost three days after that. Harry could only imagine what seeing the face of your tormentor from the age of seven could do. The journalist the photograph had been traced back to was certainly remorseful afterwards, if only because of the fact that he couldn't move once Remus, Blaise and Draco were done with him.

However, as much as Harry knew that this move would be beneficial to all of them, he worried about what it would do to Hermione. All of them apart from Hermione and Harry had grown up in the magical world, and had no connection with the world of muggles. Harry himself had no love for that world, having grown up with the worst sort of muggles possible.

Hermione on the other hand had been raised in a caring family, with parents who had loved her dearly and who had fully accepted their daughter's magical world despite the fact that many in it did not accept them in return. While staying in the Wizarding world Hermione had been able to distant herself from losing her parents. Once she returned to muggle world though, that would be much harder to do and it appeared that she had realised this.

"Are you alright Harry?"

His friend's concerned voice snapped him out of his musing and he smiled sheepishly at her, receiving an exasperated sigh in return. The young witch had long since learned to deal with Harry and Ron's habit for daydreaming and her tolerance had only increased when she was further surrounded by male friends. Luna didn't count as she wasn't really one for staying lucid at anytime of the day.

"What did you want?" Hermione asked again, beginning to sound rather impatient.

"Huh? Oh, I was wondering if you had seen my black jeans anywhere. I wanted to pack them with everything else."

Hermione's face, which had slowly begun to sink back behind her book while he spoke, popped back up when his jeans were mentioned. Was it just him or did she look guilty?

"Harry, I-uh, see the thing is-um. . ."

Harry felt even more wary now. "What? What did you do?"

"Harry, I swear it wasn't my fault! I didn't notice your jeans on Theo's bed when I went in there. It was an accident!"

Harry growled. "What happened?"

The bushy-haired witch gulped and brown eyes darted to the kitchen door. "Well, I had a piece of toast in one hand and . . . a book in the other. . ."

Her silence spoke for itself. It was widely known among their group that Hermione was never to be given food while reading a book. As capable as she was of multi-tasking, Hermione could not keep hold of her food while engrossed in a book. Years of spilled pumpkin juice, soaked clothes, butter covered hair and sticky shoes left much to be desired from the habit and Harry could safely say that he knew exactly where this was going.

"Tell me you didn't. . ."

"It was an accident! But the jam and butter got all over the back pockets and those crystal patterns-"

Harry's anger at his friend diminished quite considerably when she failed to refer to them as 'sparkly' or 'sequins'.

"-and Remus and Sirius forbid us from using magic, which might I add is highly irresponsible of them considering who they left in charge of us, so I tried to use a wandless cleaning spell."

"You did what?"

"Yes, I know it was foolish and arrogant, but really the chance of something going wrong are very rare. _The Guide to Wandless Magic_ clearly states that once you have all the-"

Harry cleared his throat loudly in hope of cutting off what looked like one of Hermione's educational lectures before it even got started. She looked annoyed at him for the interruption.

"Harry, that was really very rude, but anyway the spell didn't exactly go according to plan. Of all the malfunctions that could have possibly happened that was not one of them."

"Why? What the bloody hell happened?"

Hermione fidgeted for a moment, twirling her bushy hair around her forefinger in a characteristic sign of nervousness before reaching into the pocket of her jean shorts and pulling out a tiny pair of jeans. Harry attempted to hold onto his anger for a moment or two before failing. He began to chuckle which soon turned into full blown laughter. His friend soon joined him, but Harry could here the slightly high-pitched tone in her giggles.

Still chuckling, the young wizard reached up to wipe tears of laughter away and leaned closer for a better look at his new miniature jeans.

"Well, I suppose we could always shrink me," he suggested.

Hermione gave him a dirty look and shook her head, sending wisps of hair flying around her head.

"I really don't understand how a Cleaning Charm became misinterpreted for a Shrinking Spell. It simply doesn't make any sense. The logics of magic suggest that the four key elements in any spell is a fundamental-"

"'Mione much as I love you, I have absolutely no idea what your talking about and quite honestly I couldn't care less either."

The witch huffed at what she saw as a blatant lack of respect for the education but didn't reprimand him this time. Harry and Ron had learned that the only way to prevent her from reverting to shouting mode was to cut her off before she built up steam And to be very, _very _blunt.

"So, you're not mad?"

"Nah. I want a new pair of jeans though. The only thing they'll fit will be Ken or Barbie."

They both burst into renewed giggles at the thought and didn't see Ron when he burst into the room.

"Harry!" The shout succeeded in making them both look up.

Ron stopped in front of them and for a moment it looked like he was going to asked them what was so funny, instead he merely shook his head at his two oldest friends and yanked Harry out of his chair.

The smaller wizard stumbled as he was dragged along by the taller one. He could hear Ron rambling ahead of him about some such nonsense, though a single word caught his attention. Dumbledore.

"Dumbledore? He's back? Where is he?"

A finger pointed in the direction of the living room soon had their roles changed, Ron was now being dragged behind Harry. To anyone watching it would have being an impressive, albeit amusing sight. A five foot five wizard hauling along a considerably larger wizard of about six foot three.

Harry burst into the room with vigour and made a swift movement towards the old wizard standing by the fireplace. The previous Headmaster of Hogwarts was dressed in a dashing set of fuchsia robes with larger green butterfly's on them. His wrinkled, smiling countenance gave Harry a burst of warmth just as it always did towards the man he considered a grandfather.

While training during the war, Harry had spent many hours cooped up with Dumbledore and despite his many faults(most of which he would admit himself), the young wizard couldn't help feeling the affection towards Dumbledore that he did. His eccentricity and humour made Harry seek his company many times after and during the war if only because the older wizard seemed to have some kind of resource of cheerfulness that never ran out. Something that Harry found refreshing when surrounded by death and destruction.

There was also the fact that Dumbledore was the only one who truly understood what Harry had face during the war. No one else had had to go into battle knowing that they _had_ to kill the Dark Lord. No one except Dumbledore and strangely enough it was something that they shared a bond over.

Dumbledore's fashion had also made a rather big impact on Harry as well, much to Draco's horror. While he usually dressed in muggle clothing, which was more comfortable and suitable for everyday wear, on the occasions that he did wear robes they were now as bright and highly decorated as his former headmaster's were. For his birthday the older wizard has bought him a pair of neon green robes which flashed pink in the dark.

Due to his resignation from his post at Hogwart's following the end of the war, Dumbledore had spent much of his time with Harry and his friends, and the so called Chosen One immensely enjoyed his visits. Therefore he had been overjoyed when he had learned that Albus would be left in charge of them when Sirius and Remus made their trip to America.

"Albus," Harry cried, leaping into the other man's arms. Dumbledore had left earlier that morning to run a number of errands and had left Hermione and Blaise in charge.

"Guess what I have Harry?" asked Dumbledore, smiled serenely as he reached into his pockets.

Harry pulled back warily and eyed the man's pocket in which one hand was buried. "I dunno Albus and I'm not sure that I want to. I admit that most of your ideas are fantastic ones, but I agree with Hermione. I think that maybe we went a bit too far sticking all the furniture to the ceiling."

"Why thank you my dear boy for the compliment. I have to admit that some of your ideas have a great deal of merit as well. As for the second, I don't believe there is any such thing as too far, and if there is we haven't reached there yet. Isn't that right Mr. Weasley?"

Harry rolled his eyes when Ron nodded his head vigorously. "Sure Professor. I think Hermione overreacted, Harry. That spell was absolutely genius."

"Its Albus and thank you, my boy," Dumbledore beamed at the red-headed boy. "See Harry?"

Harry decided not to mention that Ron had nearly had a heart attack when he walked into his room and went to jump on his bed only to land in a heap on thefloor. Besides Dumbledore producing a number of green balloons from his pocket was far more interesting than embarrassing his friend.

"Water balloons?" Ron sounded disappointed.

"Yes, indeed. Water balloons. I thought we might have a bit of fun throwing them at people from the roof."

Harry knew Dumbledore almost as well as he knew himself and knew that a genius like him would never stoop so low as to throw mere water balloons at passer-bys.

"Alright Albus, what's in the balloons, apart from water? And no lies."

"Very well, my boy, you have me. I may have included something a little extra in these water bombs."

Harry raised an eyebrow in impatience. "Well? What is it?"

"Frogs."

A grin slowly spread across Harry's face at the familiar mischievous twinkle in his mentor's eye. Oh, that could only mean that they were about to get into a lot of trouble. . .and he couldn't wait. He exchanged a quick glance with Ron who looked just as excited as he did and they both lunged for the green balloons that were croaking faintly. A minute later and they were racing each other up the stairs in an attempt to get the best throwing position.

Dumbledore followed them at a sedate pace, whistling merrily as he did, content to take his time climbing the steep stairs in consideration to his old bones. Ah, to be seventeen again. . .

A doorbell ringing a few hours later was followed by a sound reminiscent to a stampede as a pile of young people and one old wizard gathered in front of the door in the dark, gloomy hallway to welcome back Sirius and Remus. Dumbledore moved forward first to shake both men's hands.

"I've been taking very god care of your adopted children while you away," the wizened wizard said solemnly, though his lips twitched slightly at the snorts he heard from behind him.

"Yes, I'm sure you have Albus," Remus replied wryly as he shrugged off his coat and scarf and then helped his mate out of his own. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about the pools of water in the road or the frogs on the street by any chance?"

Dumbledore shrugged his shoulders and looked appropriately innocent. "I have to say I know nothing about them. Frogs you say? Muggles are so very strange."

Remus hummed noncommitedly and his sharp eyes quickly found a squirming Ron standing beside Harry who had adopted the same facial expression as his former mentor.

Sirius and Remus swiftly moved forward, eager to greet their children after having been away from them for nearly four days now. Hugs were shared amongst them all and a tenseness that nobody had noticed developing since the two Marauders had left quickly evaporated.

"Well, I don't know about the rest of you but I'm starving," Sirius declared loudly, an arm wrapped around both Draco and Theo.

A murmur of agreement was received from the constantly hungry teenaged boys.

"Harry and I made dinner," Hermione piped up. "We didn't want you to have anything to do when you got home."

A grateful Remus and Sirius ushered the rest of them into the kitchen with promises to tell them all about their new house during dinner. They remained in the hallway to talk with Albus while they could hear the kids setting the table.

"How were they while we were gone?" Sirius was blunt. He felt there was no point dancing around issues concerning his children.

The former Headmaster sighed and rubbed his crooked nose while contemplating what he had to say. "They were well enough for teenaged war survivors, but that's the most positive thing I can say. Blaise and Ron seem to be coping the best and from what I can see it's not just a front they're putting on. Harry is not doing quite as well. He distracts himself with the problems of the rest, but once he is faced with his own pain it takes him quire some time to recover again. Neville and Draco seem to be very dependant on one another and are helping each other through the harder times.

"Theo too seems to depend to those around him for comfort and I believe that out of all of them, he missed your presence the most. Hermione is putting a happy front and hiding herself behind her books, but I think that being faced with returning to the muggle world is bringing up rather bad memories. The move will be hardest on her."

"You sure don't hold anything back, Albus," Sirius replied weakly, rubbing his forehead with the back of his hand.

"Would you appreciate it if I did?"

"No, of course not," Remus reassured him quickly. "Their happiness and welfare is the most important thing to us." Sirius nodded in agreement.

"I have confidence in you my boys," Albus declared cheerfully. He clapped both men on the shoulders. "While I will miss you all dreadfully, Harry most of all, I truly believe that this move is the best choice you could have made. I'll look forward to seeing your new home when I visit."

"Won't you stay for dinner?" Remus offered when the older wizard made for the door.

"I think not. You two and your family have been apart for long enough and I do believe that you should spend your time together before you leave. I shall visit again before you all depart though. And Sirius I do believe that you have frogspawn in your hair. Goodnight!"

With a cheery wave Dumbledore departed leaving two rather bemused wizards behind him, one who was grumbling irately while he murmured a Cleaning Charm for his hair. They soon retreated from the cold breeze blowing through the open door and after closing it headed towards the room at the end of the hall where warmth from the lit fireplace and the smell of food wafted out towards them.

Most of the teenagers were already seated at the table, Draco and Ron were the only ones standing because they were bringing the platters of delicious looking roast beef, potatoes and an assortment of vegetables to the table.

Remus took an empty seat between Hermione and Theo placing one hand gently on Theo's shoulder and the other on his only daughter's knee. It had taken a much longer amount of time for Theo to trust Remus than it did for him to trust Sirius and the reason for this as quite clear. Remus was a werewolf. Not only that but he had also been bitten by the very man who had spent years abusing the boy.

The Slytherin's initial aversion of him, while slightly hurtful, was also completely understandable. How could you trust something from which you had only known cruelty and malice? However, as with everyone he came across, Remus' gentle disposition and kind nature showed Theo that he clearly had nothing to fear from his former professor.

In fact Theo had opened up to Remus about the abuse he had suffered during his childhood more so than he had to anyone else including Draco and Blaise. Perhaps it was because he felt that Remus was the only one who could explain the actions of the sadistic monster that was Fenrir Greyback. But the sandy-haired man had had no such explanations for him. His account of being bitten at the age of four by a vengeful Greyback ignited a special bond between the two that has the younger often seeking the elder's company, sometimes merely to talk. Remus was happy to be of some comfort to his ward, knowing that he could get Theo to speak where others sometimes failed.

"This looks absolutely delicious," Sirius beamed at Hermione and Harry. Hermione accepted the praise with a smile and a slight blush, Harry on the other hand ducked his head and flushed crimson.

Harry had never been able to get used to the sudden praise heaped upon him by his adopted family. It wasn't like the glory and fawning admiration he received from the public which all seemed so fake and excessive. This was praise was smaller, more worthwhile things, like one of them mentioning how good his chocolate cake was or Draco stating how good he looked in his new jumper or even Hermione's thanks when he helped her with a part of Defence Against the Dark Arts that she just couldn't understand. It seemed natural to them to commend him without being aware of it. Neville seemed to flush just as darkly as he did it, but he smiled happily at the comments all the same. Theo often appeared confused when someone thanked him for something, nevertheless he shrugged it off as nothing.

Harry however, had never been on the receiving side of approval. He had watched adoration been piled upon Dudley from a very young age so he certainly knew what it was and he could always boost Ron's low self-esteem when it was needed. Which was frequently. To have it directed at him was a new experience though and admittedly one he rather enjoyed if he was honest. Sirius beaming smiles and Remus constant assurances seemed to be taking away the some of the hurt Harry hadn't even known remained from his childhood with the Dursleys.

Dinner was a comfortable affair. Talk and sometimes teasing banter was passed back and forth over the table while Remus and Sirius caught up on the happenings while they had been absent.

"And then Draco caught the Snitch just as Harry reached out-" Ron was interrupted in his narration of a game of catching the snitch that they had played inside the house buy Hermione telling him to wait until he was finished chewing to take so the rest of them wouldn't have to see the rather disturbing contents of his mouth.

A general murmur of agreement went around the table as they each felt pity for Hermione who was sitting opposite the red-headed boy. Everyone of them had been witness at one time or another to Ron's habit for talking and eating at the same time.

Draco elbowed Harry who turned away from his dinner to see a smug grin on the blonde's face.

"Don't look so full of yourself," Harry whispered grinning. "I was this close to catching that bloody ball. I just tripped over one of my shoelaces."

"Yes, of course you did Harry."

Harry eyes narrowed at the condescending tome being directed at him and opened his mouth to retaliate when instead he decided to kick Draco under the table where he would not be seen. He just managed to hold a grin when Draco's eyes widened in surprise. Nearly a year spent with Harry and Ron had gotten him used to the boys' more physical means of settling an argument and he swiftly returned the kick with one of his own. The silent but ferocious fight escalated until the point that they had begun to sword fight with their forks beneath the table, while simultaneously kicking and poking each other in the most painful placed possible.

A loud clearing of the throat had both heads snapping up and turning towards a highly amused looking Sirius. A quick glance around showed Harry that everyone else had finished their dinner and their not-so-secret fight beneath the table had gained them an amused audience.

"If you two are quite done," Sirius began, smirking when the two young wizards flushed. "Remus and I are ready to answer whatever questions you might have about our new house."

"So you found one that you like then?" Draco inquired.

Remus nodded. "Yes, we have. We've found one that we believe you will all like on the outskirts of a small American town called Forks. It's located more in the Native American reservation of La Push than in Forks itself though."

"Really?" Hermione's face had lit up this. "Native American? I've always been completely fascinated by their culture. Did you know that the-"

Sirius cut off Hermione not unkindly with a soft smile. "Hermione, we have absolutely no idea about anything got to do with their culture but I promise you when we arrive that I'll buy you all the books you want on the subject. Okay?"

Hermione nodded eagerly. Harry could already see her eyes glazing at the thought of new books filled with information she didn't yet know.

"What's the house like?" Neville asked shyly from where he was sitting beside Ron.

"The estate is called Old Willow. It's large. Of course it would be to have to hold you lot. It's a wooden house and situated quite deeply in the forests of them mountains above La Push. We felt that an isolated area would be better for us all to. . ." Remus paused for a moment to search for the right word, ". . . heal in peace together. While we will no doubt integrate with the muggle population after a while I feel safe in saying that most of you will probably want to get use to your new home first."

Sirius eagerly picked up where his mate had left off. "Another reason we chose this house is the amount of land that come with it. There is a huge front garden, which I'm sure Neville will appreciate for growing his plants." The boy in question was smiling broadly.

"There is also a large back garden that leads off into the forest which the real estate agent assured us is part of our lands. I have no doubt that many of you will disappear in there from time to time. Albus told be some of you are quite happy to escape into a forest whenever possible. Especially when it's forbidden. Can't say much seeing as Remus and me were just as bad."

"A forest? Really?" Harry asked, nearly vibrating on his seat in excitement. "Wicked."

"Exactly. It will also be helpful for Remus'. . .time of the month. And when you all get the urge to let out your wild side."

They all laughed at that, knowing exactly what he was taking about. Everyone of them could successfully turn into animagus, having been trained deeply in the subject by Sirius during the war in case they would ever need it.

Remus smiled, glad to see them so happy. "We've painted and carpeted most of the rooms inside apart from your bedrooms, having no idea what you'd like. You can decide yourselves when we get there. There are six bedrooms in all. A master bedroom, an ensuite and four other bedrooms. We felt that Hermione, as the only girl should have the ensuite which means that the rest of your are going to share."

A quick glance around the table revealed that nobody seemed bothered by that fact and Hermione was looking practically blissful at the idea of having her own bathroom.

"We could always magically add on some rooms," Sirius suggested. "But that often causes structural damage in the house."

"I think I speak for everyone when I say that we'd rather share a room with someone," Blaise spoke up. "It's just comforting to know there's someone there after everything that's happened. Hermione can come into us whenever she needs to as well. We wouldn't mind at all."

The rest of the boys nodded firmly and the only witch in their midst looked grateful. Remus and Sirius looked proud of their adopted sons.

"Great," exclaimed Sirius. "Now you just have to decide whose going to stay with who."

The boys and girl then began something that many adults had marvelled at many times during the war. They began what appeared to be a series of conversations over who would room with who. Without speaking one word. The older men could only presume that they were signalling each other somehow, something they must have developed during the war to keep certain discussions private.

A movement on Ron's part had Hermione hitting him over the head and Draco shaking his head while the other's looked either amused or puzzled. After a series of sighs and nod of heads, they all looked satisfied and Blaise announced their decisions.

"We'll keep sharing a room with the same person we're sharing with here. I'll stay with Theo, Ron and Harry will have their room and Draco and Neville will share another room."

"That leaves one room left," Sirius said thoughtfully. "You think we should keep it as a guest room?"

"Probably. I have no doubt that Albus will be visiting us frequently with those strange potions and fireworks and frogs of his," Remus pointed out dryly.

The werewolf raised an inquisitive eyebrow when his lover turned to look at him with incredulity on his face.

"What?"

"I will _never _understand how you managed to survive as a Marauder for seven years of school." Sirius voice was full of wonder and amusement and had the rest of the table chuckling at their scowling parent.

"To bed with the lot of you now," Remus announced when their laughter faded away. "I presume you all have your stuff packed?"

His expectant look received many guilty glances and he sighed. "Finish what you can tonight. We'll be transporting most of the stuff by the Floo which we've connected to the Old Willow to save us having to apparate back and forth all the time."

Harry and Theo turned rather green at the mention of the Floo, but they both knew it was a better alternative than a Portkey or apparition. Everyone except Remus and Sirius stood from the table and made their way over to give them a hug or kiss goodnight.

Harry wrapped his arms tightly around Sirius when everyone was gone and breathed in the scent of coffee, paint and wet dog. He hadn't realised how much he had missed his godfather and Remus until they had returned.

"You alright pup?" Sirius chest rumbled under his ear and Harry straightened up slowly.

"Yeah I'm fine. I'm just glad your both back safely."

Remus stood up looking concerned and grasped Harry's face between his hands. "Back safely? Harry, why wouldn't we return safely?"

The young wizard merely shrugged his shoulders, not meeting either of their eyes.

"Harry we're safe now. The war is over-"

"So what if the war is over?" Harry burst out furiously. "They are still Death Eaters out there that they never caught!"

"Harry, Remus and I can defend ourselves-""Not all the time. When you're in the muggle world you're not going to be expecting to be attacked at any moment are you? Your defences will be down and all it will take is one second and then you're gone! You'll be gone and they'll separate us because we're not brother or sister and I'll be on my own all over again." Sobs shook his body as he finished.

"Oh, Harry," Sirius murmured, drawing the reluctant young man into his arms. Harry resisted for a moment before collapsing into the man's chest.

His body shook with the force of the tears and he couldn't help think of how pathetic it was to be breaking down for the second time in a few hours. Sirius continued to run soothing circles on his back while the other hand carded through his messy locks. His sobs eventually faded away into hiccups and he could feel Remus nearby, remaining a comforting but unobtrusive presence.

"Harry, I want you to listen to me. Are you listening?" Sirius hands cupped his face gently, wiping away the tears that lingered. "Remus and I lived through the war just as you did and no matter how lax we may become, it will never be enough for anyone to harm us in anyway. Do you understand?"

Harry nodded reluctantly, still sniffling.

"We are not going to leave you alone, pup. I promise you that."

Remus wanted to reprimand Sirius for making a promise that he might not be able to keep, nevertheless he held his tongue as his mate calmed down their son until all the tears were gone and Harry was looking embarrassed instead of upset. The sandy-haired man hugged Harry once Sirius let him go and he too whispered reassurances into his ear.

"Thanks guys," Harry muttered sheepishly glancing up at them from under his long bangs. "And I'm glad your back."

Before he had taken two steps towards the door and a shriek sounded from upstairs. The tree of them turned startled gazes towards the ceiling when another yell followed by a loud thump was heard.

"What the hell?"

"Crookshanks! That quill cost me twenty galleons. I'm going to kill you!"

Harry bit his lip to suppress his giggles as he recognised Theo's voice, then a long series of enraged human shouts and feline shrieks followed. He plastered on an innocent face when Sirius and Remus rushed past him towards the noise. After all, ignorance was the best policy.

* * *

So, there's another chapter finished. Hope you all enjoyed it! Next chapter will see the Black-Lupin kids in their new home. Thanks to everyone who alerted, favourited and reviewed, your opinions, thoughts and questions are not only welcome but they also inspire me! :D


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary: **For the Black-Lupin family, Forks is a second chance at life and at love for a group of war-damaged teenagers and their parents. Post-War. Harry/Jacob

**Pairings:** Jacob/Harry, Remus/Sirius, Seth/Draco, Embry/Theo, Hermione/Blaise, Ron/Neville.

**Category:** Harry Potter/Twilight

**Genre:** Romance/Family

**Rating:** M/NC-17

**Warnings:** Mature themes, slash, gay (male/male) relationships, some angst, drama, gay sex, crossover, canon for books one to four and AU after that.

**Author's note:** Hi everybody! Well my plans for updating this went a bit haywire when my mother was admitted into hospital, but here it is. Late, but as long as usual! One thing that I have to point out is that everybody (the Black-Lupin family) will at times refer to each other as their brother, sister or father instead of having the words adopted in front of them. It's merely because I felt that they are so close that being adopted doesn't really matter to any of them. Enjoy!

* * *

"Harry."

Harry snuggled deeper into the bed covers in an attempt to escape that annoying voice.

"Harry. Wake up."

Harry felt like crying. What kind of horrible person would disturb another person while they were trying to sleep?

"G'way," the dark-haired boy mumbled. He turned on his side and after a moment sighed blissfully at the blessed silence. Finally he could get back to sleep.

The teen shrieked as his warm comforter was torn off him and a burst of cold air reached his skin causing dozens of goose bumps to erupt. Shivering Harry squinted into the cold grey light of a typical British morning and was rewarded with a disgustingly wet lick to the face. One which he would recognise anywhere.

"Padfoot," Harry groaned, wiping the dog drool off his face with the back of his hand.

His godfather turned Grim gave an excited bark and jumped on the bed beside him and pressed his head into his godson's chest. Harry rolled his eyes but obliging began to pet the furry black head. The soothing motions and the softness of those fluffy ears, quickly had his eyes falling close again. A warm dog wasn't as good as his comforter, but it was pretty close all the same.

An exasperated voice calling his godfather's name, woke Harry from his light doze a little while later.

"For the love of Merlin Sirius. You were supposed to wake him up, not go back to sleep with him."

Sirius/Padfoot rose from his lazy, sprawled out position on the bed, took a large jump off of it and effortlessly resumed his human form. He grinned sheepishly at his lover.

"I'm sorry, Remus. But you know Harry hardly ever gets a goodnight sleep and he looked like he was this morning."

Remus eyes had softened considerably during his lover's explanation and Harry rolled his eyes when the two of them began to exchange looks that he would rather not see his adopted parents share. He groaned in annoyance and rolled out of his bed, stumbling and hissing when his feet came in contact with the cold floor. A quick glance to the other bed in the room showed that, surprisingly, Ron was up before him that morning.

"In Sirius defence, he did try to wake me," Harry told Remus, while he grabbed the clothing and towel he had left out of his trunk to change into today. "He even pulled my duvet off me."

Harry dove out of his bedroom snickering when Remus' soft look disappeared and he glared at his husband. The young wizard hurried on when he heard the werewolf began his lecture on how Harry could have gotten a cold because of Sirius' irresponsibility.

Glancing into the other rooms as he made his way to the bathroom showed Harry that everyone else was already up which was unexpected. Harry tended to be one of the first awake every morning due to not wanting spend any longer in bed than he had to. Months, years even, of nights full of nightmares had him longing for the daylight to come around again. That he had slept in today and hadn't heard Ron, who was not exactly the subtlest of people, getting up was a miracle.

Come to think of it, Harry felt surprisingly refreshed today. A glance in the cracked mirror in the tiny bathroom confirmed a lessening in the dark circles that had taken up a nearly permanent residence under his eyes after the war ended. Now that he thought of it he couldn't remember waking up once last night. Maybe this move really would be good for all of them.

A quick shower later had Harry skidding into the kitchen where everyone was already seated and having breakfast. He slipped into a seat between Theo and Neville. His stomach churned when he looked at the bacon and the eggs on most people's plates. It appeared a lack of nightmares did not mean a sudden return of appetite, something that he had lacked for most of his life.

The malnutrition he had, a result from his time with the Dursleys had effected him long into his teenage years and Harry often found himself getting full extremely quicker than other people. Heavier foods like hamburgers, certain sweets and even some drinks were much more difficult to digest without harming his stomach, leaving him with cramps for hours. Instead, he tended to stick to fruit and vegetable salads, soups and lighter meats.

After quickly glancing over to make sure Sirius or Remus weren't looking, Harry waved his hand to summon a few slices of toast from across the table. A soft touch on his arm had him starting guiltily and turning towards Theo nervously. The other boy merely looked amused, but spoke to him in a quiet voice.

"You slept last night." It was a statement not a question but at Harry's nod a bright smile spread across Theo's face.

"I'm glad," he replied, not wanting to have a private conversation in front of so many people, even if they were family.

Harry gently squeezed the hand on his arm in gratitude and then asked Ron to pass the butter, not chancing summoning another item. Both boys were glad that no one inquired about their discussion despite the fact that the glances thrown their way were obviously curious.

When breakfast was over Remus and Sirius, settled down in their seats with cups of tea steaming in their hands and with bright smiles, insisted that the teenagers clear the table and then wash and dried the dishes.

"What?" Draco protested. "But we have magic!"

"Sure you do," Sirius agreed, "but how much of it are you going to be able to use when we surrounded by muggles everyday."

"But you said that the house was isolated and surrounded by a big wall!"

Sirius opened his mouth to reply, before shutting it with an audible snap. "Doesn't matter. Go on, hop to it!"

Draco snatched up his plate muttering about 'illegal' and 'child labour', causing Harry, who was expertly washing the dishes, to chuckle at him and flick bubbles in his direction.

Draco pouted at him. "I fail to see the humour in this situation."

Harry grinned at him. "Sirius is only teasing you Draco. He doesn't really expect us to do everything without magic. Merlin knows he himself wouldn't be able to survive a day in the muggle world without magic. Besides, Remus told us last night that they bought a dishwasher, among other things."

Instead of reassuring the blond, Harry received several looks of confusion after his statement from not only Draco, but from Blaise and Theo who were awkwardly trying to dry the dishes and from Neville who was putting them away. Refraining himself from sighing, Harry glanced around hopefully for Hermione and glimpsed her cleaning the table with Ron. Resigning himself to having to explain it himself, Harry began haltingly.

"A dishwasher is a muggle. . .machine. You put the dirty dishes in it and then turn it on and they come out clean."

Draco was perplexed and the others weren't faring much better. "How? Is there a house-elf in there?"

"What? No! It's-I don't know, there's water and bubbles in there."

"How does the water get in there?" Neville had paused in his job to ask his question.

"This tube-thingy takes water from a uh- look I don't know. All I know is you put them in the machine and an about an hour later they come out clean."

There was a moment of pause as everyone thought about the. . .information they had just received.

"Muggles are weird." Draco's statement got nods from Neville and Theo and a grunt of agreement from Blaise who was having his own difficulties with a tea towel for some reason. Somehow he managed to get it tucked into his pants.

"The point is Sirius isn't really going to prevent us from using magic. From what Remus said he hated having to go without magic for three days and did everything he could to get out of it."

Draco looked suitably satisfied that he wasn't going to be subjected to slave labour and they finished their chores relatively quickly to join Sirius and Remus, who were in the living room.

Remus waited from them all before he began to talk. "We have a general idea for how today is going to go and hopefully by sticking to the plan we might get to bed sometime before tomorrow. Well, tomorrow over there. It's ten 'o'clock here so it's roughly six in the evening over there so if we get in bed by ten tonight-never mind." The werewolf cut himself when he noticed the puzzled looks he was receiving.

"Anyway, first of all I'm going to clear the living room here to make room and Sirius is going to do the same in Old Willow," Remus saw his mate shuddering out of the corner of his eye, no doubt thinking about his new, expensive furniture being destroyed by ash for the fireplace when everyone was using the Floo. "You can all bring your belongings down here and we'll bring everything through one by one. Theo, Harry and Hermione will go first and you'll stay on the other side with Sirius while the rest of us will be coming back and forward with everything else."

A quick glance around indicated that everyone was following him so far.

"Everything that isn't a trunk or suitcase should have a label or your name on it so that when it comes through the fireplace, Hermione, Harry and Theo will know which room to put them into, whether they're be boxes or otherwise. Any questions?"

"How are we supposed to know which rooms to put what in?" Harry piped up.

"You can all decide which rooms you want the first time you're over there."

They all looked excited at this prospect and the older wizards shared indulgent smiles in their wards excitement.

"Any other questions?"

Draco looked reluctant, almost as though he didn't want the answer to question he was about to ask but he spoke anyway. "Can we use magic to bring everything downstairs?"

Remus rolled his eyes at the apprehension he saw in all their faces. "Yes, you may use magic to transport everything down here."

Ron whooped and they all exchanged high-fives, including Sirius which had Remus growling in annoyance. His lover was _not _a good influence on their children. The werewolf rolled his eyes as they all disappeared upstairs.

Harry scrawled his name on the side of the box containing several of the photograph albums and scrap books he has collected over the past few years, as well as the very first one he had ever received from Hagrid. Ron was on the other side of the room attempting to stuff his Chudley Cannons bedcover that he brought from the Burrow into one of the many boxes littering their soon to be empty room.

"Ron."

"Yeah?" The boy grunted as he kicked at the uncooperative bedcover in annoyance.

"Shrinking Charm."

"Right." The sheepish redhead waved his wand over the garish quilt and managed to successfully fit it in, along with his Quidditch player figurines.

Harry thoroughly checked his luggage which consisted of two trunks, a suitcase and four boxes, making sure he had everything before he waved his wand, transporting everything into the living room downstairs apart from his owls' cage and his broomstick. He sincerely doubted that Hedwig would be pleased to find herself suddenly in the living room and he rather valued his fingers intact.

The black-haired boy couldn't be happier about the fact that they were finally leaving England, but even as he thought this he glanced over at his best friend who was staring around him with a confused expression. Then again Ron looked like this half the time so Harry wasn't all that surprised.

"Ron," he called quietly.

His best friend's head snapped up and he immediately looked concerned. So many people underestimated Ron just because of his lack of interest in school work, but the redhead had a sharp intelligence. One that was focused more on strategy and actions that on learning anything in a classroom. He also had a heart of gold and a bravery that only a true Gryffindor could aspire to have. It certainly explained his animagus from anyway.

"You ok, Harry?"

Having deduced that Harry was alright physically meant that Ron wanted to know why Harry had called him.

"I'm fine, Ron. Really," the wizard reassured when he received an unsure glance. "I couldn't be happier to be moving but. . . I don't have anything left for me here except you guys. You though. . ." Harry trailed off, noticing the stiffening of Ron's shoulders and unwilling to push him to talk if he didn't want to.

"It's. . . hard," Ron forced out after a minute or two. "I feel like there's no place left for me at home anymore. But that doesn't make it-make it easier to just leave. Sometimes it seems like. . ."

"What?" Harry pressed gently when he didn't continue.

"Like I'm abandoning them," Ron admitted in a choked voice.

Harry breathed in sharply at the sorrow in the other boy's voice and felt a matching pain in his own chest. He approached Ron slowly and when he was sure the other boy wasn't going to pull away, he embraced him.

"Ron, I have no idea how you're feeling and I can't say I've ever been in you're position. But despite all that I also know how misplaced you felt when you went to see your family. How you would rage and scream when you came back here because your home wasn't the same as it used to be," Harry spoke softly but firmly, knowing that the other boy needed to hear this.

"Maybe one day after the pain, the grief, of Percy's death," Harry felt his own voice choke on the word 'death', "has passed, your family might be able to bring itself back to how it once was. But they can't yet Ron and you can't expect them to. However, that doesn't meant that you have to stand there and take their treatment of you. It's isn't right and it's not fair!"

Ron chuckled weakly at Harry's fierce tirade and as hard as it was to hear those words about his own family, he also knew it was the truth and that his best friend only had his best interests at heart. He patted the smaller boy on the back.

"Thanks," Ron said gruffly, as they let go of each other.

Harry merely smiled and made to leave the room when Ron spoke again.

"Hey, you haven't seen one of my socks lying around here by any chance, have you?"

A vague recollection made Harry ask. "Is it blue and white with quaffles on them?"

"Uh, yeah."

"It's in Theo and Blaise's room, on the chandelier."

"What? How in the fuck did it get there?"

Harry shrugged at his bemused friend. He picked up Hedwig's cage, placed his Firebolt over his shoulder and left the room to wander downstairs into the living room, where Remus, Sirius and Neville already were along with a whole pile of trunks, suitcases, boxes, the case of Blaise's guitar and several of Neville's strange plants.

"Whats that?" Harry asked curiously when he was standing beside Neville and pointed at the glowing purple plant in his hands.

"It's a _Humorous Fungus_," Neville replied, beaming proudly at his blossoming flower.

Harry opened his mouth to ask what exactly it did but quickly snapped it shut again. His previous encounters with Neville's plants had never gone well. Despite Harry's knowledge in muggle plants because of his time spent working in his aunt's gardens, the black-haired boy tended to end up covered in sticky, slimy or glowing substances when he spent too long in the presence of Neville's plants.

A loud bang indicated the arrival of yet more luggage and a quick glimpse into one of the boxes told Harry he need not even look at the name on the outside as they were full to the brim with books. He made a quick mental note to place a lightening charm on the box before even attempting to pick it up.

In the next ten minutes the rest of the luggage arrived downstairs, with numerous echoing thumps as they hit the floor heavily.

"Everything down?" Remus received several enthusiastic nods in response and he chuckled. "Anything that you may have forgotten can be brought at a later stage anyway. Alright then, Sirius first."

Harry was glad that he had doubled checked that all his belongings were packed, he hated the idea of every having to come back to Grimmauld Place after being trapped here for so long during the war. From the look on Sirius' face, he clearly felt the same.

A space around the fireplace had been left clear of trunks, suitcases and boxes so that they could move easily through it without falling over everyone's luggage. Sirius bounded forward happily with a large, black trunk in one hand and grabbed a handful of the Floo powder from the pot in Remus outstretched hand with the other.

A bright flash of green later and Theo was stepping up with his own trunk. He cast a wary look at the fireplace, then sighed resignedly and stepped through with his eyes clasped shut. Harry sympathised. He despised the Floo.

"Harry, you're next."

Was it just him or did Remus sound positively gleeful? The werewolf had an innocent look plastered on his face, but Harry wasn't fooled. The young wizard knew that he had learned that look from Sirius, the master of puppy eyes. It was a known fact that Remus found Harry and Theo's dislike of floo extremely amusing. Well, they didn't all have the reflexes of a werewolf.

Harry dragged his trunk behind him, with Hedwig's cage in his hand and grumbled as he clambered into the fireplace and threw down the green powder. He spluttered out "Old Willows" through a mouthful of ash and almost a minute later full of sickening spinning, he fell out the other side. Winded from the impact with the floor, Harry gasped for breath and gratefully grasped the hand being held out to him.

Theo clapped him on the back sending a cloud of ash into the air. "Know how you feel. I have a big bruise on my thigh, managed to land on my trunk when I fell."

Harry winced at the thought and after a moment moved out of the way in case one of the others came through. Of course, to Harry and Theo's annoyance and everyone else's amusement the rest of them stepped out without more than a small stumble.

They teenagers were practically bouncing on the spot when Remus finally stepped through, all of them having already taken in everything there was to see in the living room. The two older wizards waved their hands in a general 'off with you' gesture and they scattered.

Harry grinned as he was dragged along by Ron who was chattering on about the distance their bedroom had to be from the bathroom. He listened absently, eyes darting around, trying to take in everything at once, much as he had that very first time in Diagon Alley. What he saw delighted him. The house was obviously very big and spacious, the colours lit up the house and Harry shrewdly suspected that there was no red or black for a reason. The reminders of the war was still very fresh and there was no need to antagonise old memories.

"What about this one Harry?"

Harry glanced at his red-haired friend startled, not having realised they had stopped after entering a bedroom. The room was large, then again they all seemed to be. Two double beds stood on either side of the room and Harry ran a hand softly over the furnished wooden frame. This bed had never been used before. It had been bought for him and only him. A burst of emotion had Harry blinking back tears and cursing his emotions. There were two wardrobes and a chest of drawers, as well as a bookcase and all were made of the same wood.

Ron was still nattering on about something in the background and Harry vaguely heard the word orange. Glancing around he noticed that the walls were beige. Remus and Sirius had said they could paint their own walls whatever colour they wanted, but over his dead body was he going to be sleeping in an orange room. He'd never sleep for the rest of his life.

A large window nearly took up an entire wall and through it he could see that it was raining outside, not heavily but enough to be reminded of Britain. He felt surprisingly glad about this. It was comforting in a way, that not everything had to be completely different despite the fact that they were half way across the world. He had always loved the rain.

The young wizard was standing over by the window within a few seconds and he hadn't even noticed that Ron had stopped talking. The window looked out over what he presumed was the back garden and he could see the border of a forest at the end of it. He jumped at the hand on his shoulder, despite knowing that it was Ron.

"Imagine the Quidditch matches we can have out there." His voice was awed and Harry found himself laughing even while he nodded in agreement.

"Well, what do you think?" Ron asked when he stopped laughing.

Harry turned to grin at him. "I think this is our room."

"Great! We have to paint it first though. You know, claim it and stuff."

Harry stifled a chuckle. That was Ron's way of saying that they had to mark their territory in case somebody else tried to steal it.

"Ok," Harry agreed, "but no orange, gold, red, pink, fuchsia, maroon or any other colour red."

Ron looked rather offended for a moment before nodding, though it was rather reluctantly in Harry's opinion.

"Fine, but that means no green of any shade or silver."

"Agreed."

They shook on it, then turned back to surveying the room critically.

"How about we just go with blue?" The black-haired boy suggested. "It's kinda neutral and we can always change it later."

Ron shrugged his acquiesce and when Harry waved his wand a moment later the room was now a midnight blue.

"Too dark?"

The taller teen shook his head. "Nah, it looks good."

Satisfied, they left their 'claimed' room to search for the others. They found that the room down the hall on the left had been occupied by Neville and Draco, who were arguing over what colour it should be.

"I want silver!"

"Of course you do, you're a Slytherin."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"Only that you're all so obsessed with house colours you don't even know that other colours exist!"

Harry heard a gasp and when Draco spoke he sounded highly offended. "I happened to have an entire wardrobe full of _different _coloured clothes, thank you very much."

"Well, we're not painting it silver."

"Then we're not painting it gold either."

"Fine."

"Fine"

"Good."

"Great."

Harry and Ron glanced at each other when silence reigned, wondering if they should break the silence when, finally, Neville spoke up again.

"So green then?"

"Sounds good."

Harry shook his head in exasperation and he followed Ron further down the hall until they reached the next door. Hesitating slightly, they knocked on the closed door and heard a muffled, "Come in."

Hermione was examining her purple walls with an analytical air when they came in. She suddenly seemed to come to a decision and nodded her head happily. Ron wandered off towards another door at the other side of her room. They both chuckled at his awed, "Wow, look at the size of that bath!"

"Find your room?" Hermione asked, when Ron returned still looking amazed. It was extremely likely that he would be sneaking into his sister's room for a long, hot bath in the near future. Harry smiled and nodded.

"Did you convince Ron not to paint it orange?"They laughed at the affronted "Hey!" from behind them, where Ron had been looking out Hermione's window.

"Yeah, I did but it was a close one."

Hermione laughed, her eyes lighting up and Harry felt happy to see her genuinely smile for the first time in what felt like weeks. A plaintive meow had them all turning towards the vibrating wicker basket in the middle of the room.

"Crookshanks!" Hermione cried, rushing towards the basket and quickly opening it.

With a snarl, a large cat sprung out of the basket looking very unhappy. He sniffed his new surroundings, his eyes darting around suspiciously. Slowly, the orange cat began to sneak forwards on his belly, his eyes determined and apparently intent on exploring his new home and making sure it wasn't threatening. Seeing the cat's interest in it's new habitat reminded Harry that he had left Hedwig downstairs in her cage. He silently promised to let her out that night so that she could get used to the forest around the house.

Happy to leave her cat investigating, Hermione began to pull items out of her suitcase. The two boys decided to leave her to it and with a quick good-bye they left to find the rest of their adopted siblings.

The final occupied bedroom was the closest to Sirius and Remus's room and there they found Theo and Blaise. They seemed to have agreed easily enough on a blue colour, a few shades lighter than Harry and Ron's own room.

"Is your room orange then?" Theo asked Harry with a look of pity after the ex-saviour commented on it.

"That's so not fair," Ron yelled. "I don't like orange that much."

A burst of laughter followed his statement and they were all practically in tears as they ignored Ron's adamant, "What? I don't!"

"Uh huh." Theo eyed Ron in amusement mixed with incredulity. "I hate to point his out to you Ron, but your top is bright orange, your jeans are some strange maroon colour that I've never seen before and which probably shouldn't exist. Even your laces are orange."

"He's in denial," Blaise whispered into a giggling Harry's ear.

Harry, who had begun to calm down, began to laugh again which set off the rest of them, apart from an annoyed looking Ron. This was scene Draco and Neville entered upon several minutes later. Three hysterical siblings and one irritated one, who was admittedly beginning to look rather amused at his laughing brothers.

Draco raised one elegant eyebrow before deciding not to ask, though his lips twitched as Ron jumped on a howling Blaise and began to wrestle with him. A huff from next to him had the blond turning curiously towards Neville, who was glaring at the wrestling figures.

Brows furrowed in confusion, Draco glanced between the boy next to him and the ones on the floor trying to find the reason for that look of hostility and . . . jealousy? Realisation had Draco nearly gaping until he quickly caught himself and noticed Harry grinning at him from the other side of the room.

Draco raised his eyebrows in a silent question and the other boy gave a small nod and a wink. Of course Harry would know. The Slytherin had never seen anyone so observant in all his life. At least where his family and friends were concerned anyway. Merlin, how long had this being going on within him realising it? He groaned when the knowledge of what he had just learned washed over him. Wasn't it bad enough that he had to deal with Blaise moping on about Hermione every other day?

Sirius voice calling up the stairs and telling them to hurry up interrupted both Draco's thoughts and the playful wrestling on the ground. As they all made for the door, Draco hung back and yanked Harry back, so that they were walking at the back of the group.

"How long has that been going on?" Draco was nothing if not blunt, Harry mused. Always went completely straight to the point.

Harry shrugged in response and wrinkled his brow in thought. "I'm not sure to be honest. I think it's still pretty new though."

"So Neville likes Ron?"

"Yup. Seems so."

"Where the bloody hell did that come from?" Harry blinked at Draco's uncharacteristic use of foul language.

"I don't know. You know yourself how close we all are. It probably crept up on him with him even realising it, just like it did with Blaise and Hermione."

"Yes, the only trouble is that Hermione likes Blaise back," Draco hissed quietly, ignoring the puzzled looks he received from the others in front of them. "Does Ron like Neville?" Harry frowned at that, it was something that had been bothering him as well and he was hesitant to answer. "If I was to answer honestly, then I'd say no but," he stressed as Draco opened his mouth to speak, "you can never know with Ron. As much as he doesn't admit it, Ron is better than most of us, even you, at putting on a mask and hiding his true feelings."

Draco nodded slowly. He didn't want to judge Ron before he knew his true feelings, however. . .

"I know how you feel," Harry said softly, "but this isn't something we can protect them against. This is something that they'll have to figure out in their own time. By _themselves._"

The blond knew that that was a very clear warning not to interfere and though disappointed, he agreed.

Downstairs they enjoyed exploring the living room further, including the large television and PS3 which they were all intrigued by and which Ron had to practically be dragged away from after he learnt what it was. It was after investigating the kitchen, where Ron couldn't resist sneaking a snack out of the fridge, that they all rejoined Sirius and Remus in the living room.

"Did you all pick out you rooms?" Sirius asked from his lounging position on the couch that reminded Harry distinctly of a sprawled dog.

His question received an influx of chattering and excited shouts and Sirius looked alarmed at the mayhem he had caused. He glanced at his husband for help and received a smirk in return. Growling at the pain the noise was causing his ears, the animagus used a nifty trick he had picked up from Lily several years ago. Putting two fingers in his mouth he blew and an ear piercing whistle sounded through the room causing immediate silence.

"You done?" Sirius inquired nonchantly. Silence. "Good."

"I think I'm deaf," mumbled Blaise, shaking his head.

"Does anyone else hear ringing?" Ron shouted, hitting himself on the side of the head.

Rolling her eyes at their exaggeration, Hermione answered from them all that yes they had found their rooms and were very happy with them, thank you very much.

"Yeah, what she said," Ron agreed.

After asking a few more questions (and doing a large amount of complaining that if he had to paint the muggle way, that the kids did too) Sirius was suitably satisfied that they were all happy.

Soon Remus along with Ron, Blaise, Neville and Draco disappeared back through the fireplace to Grimmauld Place to start the long process of carting everything from their old home in Britain to their new home in Washington.

"There has to be an easier way of doing this," Harry groaned as he carried yet another box upstairs. His comment was directed towards his godfather who was walking several steps in front of him with a box of his lover's books.

"There's not a chance that half of this stuff will come through a Portkey still in one piece and trying to concentrate on apparating yourself as well as luggage raises the chances of splinching considerably. Even the Floo network isn't full proof, but it's the best we can do."

Harry grumbled in annoyance, though he readily accepted his godfather's word. As fit as he was from training and Quidditch, going up the stairs for what felt like the hundredth time that day was beginning to wear on him. Their boxes and trunks couldn't be just transported upstairs either because apparently not only were they temperamental from going through the Floo, but the chances of the boxes landing in the right room were very slim.

Therefore Harry, Theo, Hermione and Sirius spent several hours carting stuff upstairs or into the kitchen or some other place in the house depending on what it was.

"Where does this go?", "That's not suppose to be there!" and "Why did we have to move again?" became the more common phrases among the younger magic users that morning. Meanwhile Sirius readily took everything in stride, giving orders on where everything should go.

"Do you notice that we tend to be doing the hard work?" Harry huffed, shoving the box labelled as Theo's higher on his shoulder.

Hermione merely groaned, dragging her box up behind her by one of the flaps.

"We might as well give him a whip. Just so he could say-"

"Hurry up!" Sirius yelled up the stairs. "These boxes aren't going to move themselves!"

"-that," Harry finished. He grinned when he heard Hermione giggling behind him.

They took what they felt was a well-deserved break when they reached the top of the stairs. Said break comprised of them both collapsing upon the carpet and lying there panting.

"Just gonna rest for a minute or two," Harry moaned, covering his eyes with his hand.

"Just a little break," Hermione agreed, sleepily.

"Ah-hem."

Harry blinked and removed his hand from his eyes. A sigh of relief escaped him when he saw that it wasn't Sirius standing above them, but Theo. The brown haired boy looked torn between exasperation and amusement.

"You do realise that lying here will not make the boxes move any faster." It sounded more like a statement than a question so Harry decided to reserve his energy by not replying. "I expected little else from you Harry-"

"Hey!" Harry protested, deciding that defending his honour and stuff required his energy at the moment. "I only suggested it, Hermione encouraged me."

"Hermione?"

"Carpet's soft and fluffy," was the mumbled reply.

"Mmmhmmm." He definitely sounded amused now.

"Come on, get up. The sooner this is over, the sooner Sirius can get out of his insane slave driver mode and back to his normal slightly less insane overprotective mode."

Reluctantly the other two got up on their knees and began to push their boxes along the carpet in small, half-hearted movements while Theo tried not to chuckle as he carried his own box along after them.

They eventually reached the rooms in which the boxes belonged too and deposited them just inside the door.

"Hungry," Harry groaned, patting his rumbling stomach.

"Do all men become reduced to one syllable words when food is involved?" Hermione inquired curiously.

"Yes."

"Ah, just wondering."

"M'kay."

Less than an hour later, they all gathered back at Grimmauld Place for lunch. Harry couldn't help thinking how bare the big kitchen looked without anything on the counters and for a brief moment he felt a small pang of loss before shaking it away.

After grabbing a few ham and cheese sandwiches, the dark-haired boy quickly got caught up in a discussion with Theo as to what would happen if they tried to levitate the boxes upstairs. Harry couldn't prevent a small smirk at the fact that laziness appeared to be contagious.

"It's nearly three hours since the boxes came through the Floo. All or at least most of the residual magic from the fireplace should be gone by now," whispered Theo. "The muggle environment should have increased the speed it disappeared by a good deal too."

Harry grinned. He loved when Theo got involved in his plans. Like Theo, Harry tended to be quiet, shy and often withdrawn, particularly around those he didn't know. However, if there was one thing he excelled at was being mischievous and cunning. He had received help on the mischievous front from his godfather and Albus. Theo was not one who enjoyed playing pranks and tended to stay away from the rest of his adopted siblings when they engaged in prank wars. On the rare occasions that he did get involved, each side would fight to have him on their side because of his sheer cleverness and cunning.

"Sorry to burst your bubble or lack thereof." Harry groaned. Hermione. Ever the voice of reason, logic and worst of all: facts. "If magic is used on any object, magic or otherwise, for up to six hours after it's been through the floo network, then everything in a ten metre radius will be gone."

Gifted with two equally blank looks, the witch rolled her eyes and elaborated. "It will explode. You know, blow up, go off, detona-"

"We get it," Theo cut her off, looking annoyed. She threw him a disgruntled look before flouncing off.

"How could you not know that?" Harry hissed, poking him.

"What about you? You didn't know it ether." Theo poked him in return.

"You're the smart one!"

"Just because I read books doesn't mean I know everything. I'm not Hermione you know."

They sat in sullen silence for a few minute chomping on their sandwiches, before Harry sighed and clapped Theo on the back. "It was a good idea though, if it was about three hours in the future."

"Think Hermione still has her Time Turner from third year?"

"I rather doubt it," Harry chuckled, receiving a grin in return.

An hour later, they had forgotten what happiness meant as they stood staring in abject horror at the scene before them.

"So, we'll start with one box each-"

"You want us to put every single one of your books in alphabetical order?" Harry gasped, clutching onto Theo's sleeve. He almost grinned when he felt the other boy grab back frantically. Almost.

Hermione looked shocked at his suggestion. "No! We have to separate them by subject first and then alphabetically. Then chronologically of course."

"Of course," Theo nodded, looking perfectly serious, but Harry could feel the small shuffling steps he was making towards the door. "That makes perfect sense."

Harry stifled hysterical laughter with difficulty. He had no idea how many books Hermione had, but knew it was a lot. Nearly every box that had been labelled with the witch's name had contained books. He briefly considered running for it, but one look at his friend's eager face had dispelled that notion. This was one of the rare times he had seen her look anything except miserable in days and he wasn't going to be the one to change that.

Crookshanks, who was still roaming around Hermione's room much to Theo's displeasure, had no such sympathies and Harry pouted as he watched the cat scamper out of the room. Fucking lucky cat.

"Alright then," the young wizard sighed. He heard a faint whimper from the boy beside and rolled his eyes while he dragged the boy forwards. "Which box will I take first?"

Harry and Theo stumbled downstairs nearly two hours later, holding onto each other for support. Hermione followed them with her nose buried in _Advanced Muggle Studies. _An evil smirk played across her lips every time she glanced up and saw her two exhausted brothers.

"Ron!"

Said red-head looked up from his lounging position across one of the couches. He grinned at the sight of his best friend. "Hey Harry. Mate, you'll never believe how comfortable this cou-oof!"

The wind was abruptly knocked out of him when the dark-haired wizard collapsed on him with a muffled groan.

"What the hell?" Ron inquired when his lungs filled with air again. He cast a questioning glance at Hermione, who looked frighteningly smug, and Theo, who looked just as wrecked as Harry.

Theo moaned and fell face-first onto another couch. "Hermione. . .books. . .alphabetical order. . ."

"Ah." Ron nodded wisely. Enough said. He gave Theo a sympathetic look despite the fact that he didn't see it and patted Harry reassuringly on the back. "There, there," he mock-comforted.

Harry snorted and batted his arm away. "Thanks," he quipped sarcastically. He half-heartedly attempted to get off of his best friend, before giving up and flopping back down again, ignoring Ron's grunt of pain.

"Where is everyone?" he wondered. The room was empty accept for the four of them and Crookshanks who was happily clawing at the scratching post in the corner that they had brought with them.

"There all doing something in the kitchen," Ron replied, yawning. "I didn't better asking. Neville said he'd get me a soda though."

Hermione sniffed disdainfully. "What did your last slave die of?"

Ron glared at her when Theo and Harry let out tired chuckles. Then Harry sighed and straightened up. "I'm too tired to even sleep right now." His statement was met with a muffled protest from Theo who had yet to straighten up from his slumped position.

Harry gazed around the living room and couldn't help the flush of pleasure he felt at the reminder that this was now their home. He sunk down onto the soft carpet with a pleased murmur. He had never lain down on a carpet before. It was really soft.

"Alright down there Harry." An amused voice had him glowering up at Blaise who was standing over him. His glower faded when he saw what Blaise was holding. He vaguely realised that the rest of the Black-Lupin family had joined them in the living room but he had eyes only for the can Blaise was holding.

"Awesome!" he yelped happily, taking the offered coke from his brother's hand.

"What is this?" Ron's puzzled question had both Harry, Hermione and surprisingly Remus staring at him aghast.

"This," Hermione said slowly, "is the best drink in the entire world. Nothing the Wizarding World had will never come even close to this. Not even Butterbeer."

Those who had grown up in purely wizarding families gave her a sceptical look, but Harry ignored them and gulped down the drink delightedly. The pleasant but fizzy substance brought tears to his eyes and had him grinning. It was only rarely that he had ever been able to indulge in having fizzy drinks when he lived with the Dursleys and it was usually when they had left him alone in the house and he could sneak one out of the fridge. Of course, Aunt Petunia's sharp eye had always caught it and he always went without any food for the week afterwards.

Seeing the sombre expression that was beginning to creep over Harry's face, Remus quickly spoke up and gained everyone's attention. "Everyone did a fantastic job today and I'm really proud of you all."

Sirius laughed when the kids cheered and began to toast each other with their sodas. He startled a little when an arm crept around his waist, then relaxed when he was pulled closer to his lover's body and rested his head on the slightly taller shoulder.

When the rambunctious shouts had died down Remus said, "We want you all to have a good first night here so you can all choose to do whatever you want, except going outside which is off limits until Sirius and I put the wards up."

Harry and Ron pouted a bit at having their planned adventure in the forest taken away but nodded along with everyone else. While Remus wandered off towards the boxes of books in front of one of the bookcases and Hermione returned to her own book, everyone else began to decide what they wanted to do.

Sirius laughed when the boys decided to try out the Playstation 3 and Harry began to try to explain the idea of a games console to Ron, Blaise and Draco from what he remembered of Dudley's one before the boy chucked it out the window.

The animagus turned to where Theo was lightly dozing on one of the couches. With a soft smile he approached him. The curly-haired boy startled at the gentle touch on his head and blinked blearily up at Sirius who chuckled. Carefully, Sirius picked up Theo's head, sat down and placed it in his lap.

The young wizard grumbled for a moment and wriggled a bit to get more comfortable. After a few minutes he snuggled into Sirius' thigh and his breath began to even out again. Long fingers carded through the teenager's brown hair in hopes of soothing him and keeping away nightmares. Sirius only wished that it was that easy.

Over by the television Ron and Draco were busy arguing about whether they should play a car racing game, Grand Theft Auto or something called Medal of Honor while Harry and Blaise attached the game console to the television. Sirius had no idea what they were talking about as he and Remus had just picked up the first games they saw.

"Just pick one already," Harry growled and picked up one of the remotes tossing Blaise the other one.

Ron rolled his eyes and threw his hands up in defeat, while a smirking Draco passed Harry Grand Theft Auto. The two holding the remotes settled down on the couch directly in front of the television as Ron sprawled across the floor and the blond Malfoy collapsed beside Harry.

"So what exactly is the aim of this game?" Blaise asked, fiddling with the remote. Harry slapped his hands away from the buttons and concentrated on setting up the game instead of answering.

Picking up the cover of the game, Ron flipped it over and read the back of it. "We're taking the role of a criminal in a muggle city," he read out, then frowned. "Says something about a gun as well. What's a gun?"

Harry rolled his eyes heavenward and prayed for patience when three curious eyes turned his way. At this rate it was going to take longer to explain the actual game than anything else. They probably wouldn't end up playing it for an hour.

The last of the Black line laughed at his godson's frustrated expression despite having a very limited amount of knowledge concerning muggles. Something his lover liked to tease him about whenever he got the chance.

A small movement of the couch had his head turning towards Hermione who had taken the seat beside him. "Everything alright?" he asked quietly, so as not to disturb Theo.

The brown-haired girl nodded, then slowly began to shake her head. Her breath hitched and tears began to flood her eyes though she valiantly tried to keep them from spilling. Sirius held out his arm to her and she quickly set down her book and cuddled into his side, tears finally falling when her face was hidden in his shirt.

The animagus made soft, comforting noises. He didn't try to get her to stop crying because he knew it would be better for her to let it out rather then keeping it all bottled up. He merely remained a steady presence, rubbing soothing circles on her back while simultaneously stroking his son's hair.

The boys had all ignored their interaction, although Sirius had seen them throwing their sister concerned looks, they had not intervened while she cried and gave them both the privacy they needed. They were now preoccupied in breaking into cars, running away from cops and other crude things that the animagus knew his partner would be furious to see in the game.

Soon Hermione's sobs began to fade away and Sirius conjured a handkerchief for her to clean her face with. "Feel better?" he inquired sympathetically.

The young witch nodded, her face blotchy and eyes red-rimmed from crying. "Thanks." she whispered hoarsely.

The black-haired man merely shook his head. "You don't need to thank me. That's what I'm here for."

Hermione smiled weakly at him and settled back down with her head pressed against his shoulder. Her eyes fluttered shut, exhausted from the day's work and her bout of crying. "I miss them," she mumbled sleepily, just before her breath began to even out.

"I know you do sweetheart," Sirius murmured, feeling rather emotional himself. "I know."

Truthfully, Sirius had no idea what it felt like to lose your parents. He had left home completely voluntarily at the age of sixteen and he had never looked back. While he regretted abandoning his only brother the way he did, the animagus had never once missed his parents. They had never been comforting or loving or praised either of their sons they way Sirius and Remus tried to do with their kids everyday. Instead they had been verbally abusive. Mocking one child and pinning all their ambitions on another. Sometimes Sirius was unsure whether he or Regulus had gotten the worst end of the deal.

Hermione, on the other hand, had been forced to leave her parents behind. While her decision had been made willingly, she had essentially sacrificed her happiness for her baby brothers and it was a decision she would have to live with for the rest of her life.

An instinct made Sirius look up and his eyes locked with golden-brown ones. Remus smiled lovingly at his partner and then tilted his head towards Theo and Hermione. The animagus looked down at the two sleeping teenagers and grinned. He mouthed 'they're fine' at the werewolf who nodded in relief, then winced when a car blew up on the television and the four boys laughed gleefully.

Sirius's memories brought up fond times of moments when he, Remus and James would laugh like that after executing another trophy-worthy prank. He turned to meet Remus' eyes again but frowned when he noticed the panicked expression on the werewolf's face. His lover's eyes were glowing in fervour and his head was tilted upwards, his nose sniffing, his body tensed.

* * *

Outside in the forest Jacob Black lunged at his pack brother and growled when he missed him by a few inches.

"_Missed me," _Jared's voice sounded inside his head.

Jacob merely snarled at him and went to jump again when he was knocked to the ground by the furball that was Seth Clearwater.

"_Hey guys, what's up?"_

With his head tilted to one side and his tongue lolling out, Jake found it impossible to be mad at their youngest pack member. Instead he nudged the sandy-coloured wolf playfully which the younger one seemed to take as incentive to talk.

"_You should have seen it Jake! The minute I saw it I knew I had to have it. I tell one thing though, it was fast. I thought I wasn't going to catch it but then I swerved an-"_

"_Woah Seth. What the fuck are you talking about?"_

Seth gave Jake a 'duh' type of look but answered anyway. _"A rabbit."_

The other pack member's snorts of laughter echoed through his head and Jake couldn't help joining in, his exasperation at the young boy seeping through the link.

"_Come on Seth."_

Jake pushed the other shapeshifter with his head and then took off in the direction of the rest of the pack. They were patrolling the area around La Push forest just like they had been doing every night since they turned. Only this time it was with a purpose. Leah and Embry had caught the scent of a vampire when they were patrolling that morning and Sam had decided to take everyone but those two wolves out that night to see if they could pick up the scent again and follow it.

Revelling in the feel of the leaves crumpling under his paws and the cold air against his warm body, Jacob ran with his pack. His eyes scanned the forest for movement and his nose varied between trying to catch scents in the air and on the ground. When a number of unfamiliar scents and one familiar one caught his attention he stiffened and with seconds a series of growls were echoing through the forest.

Sam mad a leap over several of the pack and towards Jacob where the scent was the strongest. His huge, black wolf form was trembling with the growls emitting his body.

"_What is that?"_ Paul's voice was suspicious when it came through the link.

Sam's eyes narrowed and he snarled again. _"Where are we?"_

Quil and Jake tended to patrol this part of the woods more than the rest so a quick glance around swiftly jolted their memories. _"Up past the creek that leads to the cliffs. Near Old Willow," _Jake informed his Alpha.

The vague memory of that familiar scent was nagging at him and with a burst of inspiration a gold-eyes, sandy-haired face popped into his mind. The other shapeshifters who had been there that day recalled Remus' face as well.

"_That was the scent Remus gave off,"_ Quil said, in puzzlement. _"I remember how strange it was because it smells nearly exactly-"_

"_-like us,"_ Sam finished, his entire body tense.

"_What about the other scents?"_ Seth was bounding around in agitation, not liking the unpleasant vibes that everyone was permitting. Besides those two men, Remus and Sirius had seemed really nice!

"_It doesn't matter how nice they seem you idiot!" _Jared snapped.

Seth glared at the brown wolf. _"I was only saying. . ."_

"_Well don't!"_

The rest of the pack ignored the quarrelling duo and positioned their bodies in the direction the scents were coming from. _"They mentioned that they had some adopted kids,"_ Jake pointed out. _"That's probably what the other smells are."_

"_Did anyone see them pass through the village today?" _Sam directed the question towards the pack at large and received negative responses from everyone.

"_What should we do?" _Quil asked, pawing nervously at the ground.

Sam remained quiet for a long time and the rest of the pack remained silent when he began to discuss the situation with his bet, Jacob.

"_Nothing,"_ he answered finally. _"They've caused no harm to us and we have no reason to harm them. The way that man, Remus, smells is peculiar but not dangerous. We have more important things to worry about than this new family."_

"_Too right!" _Seth yelled. _"Lets kick some vampire butt!" _His furry behind disappeared into the trees as he gambled off and the other wolves chuckled as they followed him at a slightly slower pace.

Jake made to follow behind Quil when a tantalising scent caught his attention. He had noticed it before mixed it with all the other smells, but it had been subdued. Now, it mesmerised him and without realising it his legs began to move of their own accord towards the private property of Old Willow.

A sharp bark from his Alpha had him shaking off his daze and he sprinted towards the trees. He paused for a moment and glanced backwards before shaking his giant head and hurrying to catch up to the rest of his pack, resisting the urge to turn back. Ignoring the ache in soul that told him he was leaving something very important behind him, he focused his mind on the hunt ahead.

* * *

Inside the Black-Lupin household Remus's eyes faded from luminous gold back to their ordinary amber colour. Sirius' shoulders slumped and he let out a sigh of relief when his mate's tense form relaxed and the frown faded from his face. The werewolf smiled reassuringly at his anxious lover and tried to loosen the knots from his back and legs.

The suddenness of the wolf scent had startled him and he had lost control of his inner beast momentarily. It was something that he always kept rigid control over, in fear of hurting someone he loved. The smells had faded quickly though and Remus presumed it was a hungry wolf pack searching for food who had been frightened away by the scent of humans in the area. What else could it be after all?

A whoop of triumph from Draco had him sighing and he winced when Theo woke with a start. Sirius was fast acting though and soon had him settling down again, but not before the curly-haired boy had grabbed one of the cushions and lobbed it in Draco's direction. The wallop to the side of the head had Draco flying over the edge of the couch and landing with a thump on the ground.

Delighted, Ron reached for the dropped remote only to hit the ground himself when Draco, who had quickly recovered, belted him the same cushion and haughtily demanded the remote back. Remus shook his head in fond exasperation at their behaviour, but smiled none the less. He wouldn't change a thing.

* * *

Falling into bed that night was a more than welcome retrieve for his aching body. Harry had barely managed to remove his clothes before crawling into bed, sighing as he snuggled into the warm comforter and grateful that Blaise had let Hedwig out earlier on while he was letting out his own barn owl.

"Night Ron," he called to the other bed. A loud snore was his answer and he chuckled before turning on his other side. He could see out of the huge window that took up one wall because they hadn't put any curtains up yet. He hoped they never did. Seeing the forest at night from his dorm room during the war had been one of his greatest comforts. There was something soothing and peaceful about the darkness he mused, gazing at the quarter moon that lit up the forest it below. He had thought that being away from Britain the first night would be discomfiting, even frightening but it wasn't.

The sky and the forest looked so alike to the one at Hogwarts that Harry felt comforted. His last thought before he fell asleep had been whether or not to put up a silencing charm so that nobody would hear his nightmares, therefore getting a goodnight sleep. . . He decided against it. Sirius and Remus, as well as all his siblings would be furious if they found out. No need to anger the masses.

* * *

Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed, favourited and alerted! I'm really pleased that you're enjoying it so far and hearing your thoughts helps me along! ^.^


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary: **For the Black-Lupin family, Forks is a second chance at life and at love for a group of war-damaged teenagers and their parents. Post-War. Harry/Jacob

**Pairings:** Jacob/Harry, Remus/Sirius, Seth/Draco, Embry/Theo, Hermione/Blaise, Ron/Neville.

**Category:** Harry Potter/Twilight

**Genre:** Romance/Family

**Rating:** M/NC-17

**Warnings:** Mature themes, slash, gay (male/male) relationships, some angst, drama, gay sex, crossover, canon for books one to four and AU after that.

* * *

Dull light poured onto the tousled bedcovers, waking the occupant of the bed closest to the window. Harry moaned in discomfort as his eyes burned at the sudden light and opened them hesitantly, wondering blearily why on earth his retinas were attempting to retreat into his brain. The answer came to him quickly. They had never got around to putting up curtains in his and Ron's room. Mostly because he was rather reluctant to have the view blocked by cloth. There was also the fact that he and Ron were simply to lazy to look for curtains, never mind hanging them up.

The Black-Lupin family had been living in La Push for almost a week now, but despite this the teenagers of the family had yet to leave the house, much to their annoyance. Moving took a lot more work than Harry had ever imagined. In the days after their move from Grimmauld Place to Old Willow their new house had been immersed in utter chaos. Although every box and piece of luggage had been labelled with a name, mistakes still occurred and most of them spent the next few days going from room to room trying to discover whose belongings they had and who had theirs.

Some cases were more easy than others. If it was orange in colour then it was most likely Ron's. The plants were almost always Neville's and any books were taken to Hermione, Remus or Theo who usually knew who the books belonged to if it turned out that it wasn't theirs.

Harry and Ron, on the other hand, were baffled when they opened one of the boxes in their room only to find roughly a half a dozen lamps in it. Sirius, who had been walking by at the time, tumbled into the room, happily exclaiming that he had been looking for his lamps everywhere.

The teenagers were gifted with perfect blackmail material when Neville accidentally opened a trunk that he believed was his, only to find that it was filled to the brim with chocolate of both the muggle and the magical variety. While Ron and Blaise were more than eager to dive in, looks of glee clear on their faces, they were stopped when a blushing Remus came in and quickly dragged the trunk out. They could later hear their other guardian berating the werewolf about his 'obsession'. Though Sirius sounded more amused than anything else.

Remus' secret stash, or not so secret stash, aside, things began to slowly settle down as everyone began to become more at ease with their new surroundings. However, it became clear quickly to the young wizards and witches that Remus and Sirius had no intention of letting them wander around outside whenever they want. Something that they protested quite vehemently against. After finally moving to a safer place, away from the threats that Britain posed, they were still not free to live their own lives. However, their guardians were insistent that until they had the wards around the house completed, the young wizards and witch were not allowed to take even a step outside.

Harry, albeit reluctantly, understood this. Even though the war was over, there was still several of the Dark Lord's followers who remained uncaught and longing for vengeance. The black-haired boy also knew that they would be among the top on their list for revenge. After all, he was the Boy-Who-Lived. Hermione was a muggleborn and one of his best friends. Ron and Neville were 'blood-traitors'. Theo, Draco and Blaise had all turned their back on their families and the Dark in general. Remus was a werewolf and a member of the Order of the Phoenix as was his husband. Quite a bounty they all made if any Death Eater should find them in La Push.

After three more days had passed and the wards were very close to being completed, they all asked once again to be allowed outside presuming that their adoptive parents would agree. But after exchanging wary looks, Sirius told them that it was pouring rain and they would all catch colds.

"What?" Harry hadn't been able to stop himself and even Remus' disapproving gaze hadn't been enough to deter him. "A cold? We've been through a war and you're worried about a cold?"

"Harry." Remus had admonished softly with a quick, concerned look at his mate.

Sirius looked equally as defiant as his godson and even more uneasy. "I don't want to be nursing you all with Pepper-Up Potion when you get sick from the rain."

"It rains here all the time Sirius." Harry knew his tone had been unnecessarily harsh and he internally flinched at the hurt look on his godfather's face But he had waited so long to finally be free. First from his relatives and then from the Wizarding World, and now he was being told that he was once again a prisoner. This time in his own home. Furious and upset, feeling unable to be in the same room with them any more Harry had fled to his own room.

That had been two days ago and Harry hadn't spoken more than two words to his guardians since then. He knew he was being childish, but having freedom dangled in front of him and then told he couldn't have it was almost more than he could bear. Wasn't that the reason they had come here in the first place? So that they could finally live their lives as they pleased, without the restrictions of the Wizarding World?

* * *

Sunlight. Harry's half awake brain told him that this was somehow strange and as he propped himself up on one arm, still blinking sleepily it hit him. Sun. Forks. It rained nearly everyday of the year in Forks! Which meant. . .

Harry set up in bed so fast that he felt dizzy but he didn't wait to adjust as he staggered out of bed towards the window. The entire back garden was bathed in sunlight. It wasn't a strong golden light, more like a faint yellow colour but it was still there. Harry smiled happily and restrained himself from bouncing on the spot by remembering that everyone else was most likely still asleep.

He dressed quietly so as not to disturb a loudly snoring Ron and tiptoed out of the room with his shoes in his hands. It was almost compelling to peek in every door before he went downstairs.

During the war they had gotten into the habit of leaving their doors opened. It saved time when you had to get up quickly because of an attack. After the war it became a mutual agreement to leave your door open so that they could come to one another's aid if someone was having a nightmare. The habit had yet to leave them and the only ones who kept their door closed at any time now was Remus and Sirius. Harry preferred to keep his thoughts away from _why _their door was kept closed.

Draco and Neville were still deeply asleep and Harry shuddered at the thought of waking the blond before he wanted to be woken. Draco was notorious for hating mornings, claiming that they disrupted his much needed beauty sleep (Ron had long since learned that making jokes about this was _not _an intelligent thing to do). As usual Neville was lying completely still while sleeping. He had given many of them scares when it appeared that he wasn't breathing in his sleep and they had long since learned to check his pulse before panicking and waking everybody else.

Harry frowned when he peered into Theo and Blaise's room. Blaise was sprawled across Theo's bed with the latter curled into the crook of his brother's arm and clutching his t-shirt in one hand. The small Slytherin had had a nightmare then. Not an unusual occurrence but an unfortunate one nonetheless. The young wizard then spotted Hermione curled in the middle of Blaise's bed, his pillow clutched tightly to her chest.

Satisfied that his family was suitably alright for the moment and not daring to venture into Sirius and Remus' room for fear of what he might see, Harry made his way to the kitchen.

Fetching the eggs, sausages and bacon from the fridge Harry flicked his wand at the frying pan and with a wave, breakfast was cooking. While keeping an eye on the sizzling food, the young wizard started putting bread into the toaster as well as pancakes for those who wanted them. Although Harry had hated cooking for his relatives simply because he had no choice in the matter, cooking was something that he found surprisingly relaxing. He knew that several of those still sleeping would be drawn downstairs by the smell of food.

Sure enough, even as he began to place the plates on the table Ron staggered into the room, still looking half asleep. Like Draco, the Gryffindor appreciated his sleep. However, in a toss up between food and sleep, food won hands down for Ron.

"M'ning, H'ry," Ron mumbled eagerly reaching for the plate of food Harry was already holding out.

Harry chuckled, "Morning Ron."

The red-head was soon followed by Sirius whose hair was, as usual, askew in the morning. His greeting was interspersed with yawns and like Ron he accepted his plate of food with enthusiasm.

Everyone else began to slowly traipse in after that. Blaise, Hermione and Theo appeared, the latter two probably only because Blaise had woken them. Neville trailed in soon afterwards looking slightly more bushy-tailed than the rest of them, though not by much, but Harry at least got a coherent greeting out of him.

The rest of them were already finished and everyone except Sirius had left the table when Remus appeared in the kitchen, fully dressed. He greeted Sirius with a kiss and Harry with a hair ruffle. Although he was a werewolf, Remus tended to have a smaller appetite than the rest of them at times and the dark-haired boy often worried about how little he ate. The black-haired boy placed a cup of tea and a pile of toast on the table in front of the werewolf, as well as a prescribed magical tonic.

"Thank you, Harry," Remus smiled gratefully, while unfurling the Daily Prophet that Hedwig had just delivered. They had all felt it necessary to keep up with the news in Britain even if it no longer concerned them.

Harry busied himself tidying up the kitchen as Remus read out parts of the news in the Prophet and Sirius dryly commentated on them. The young wizard was bidding his time and gathering his courage so that he could confront hid guardians. However, scrubbing the dishes could only take so much time and after his third time rinsing them off, Harry took a deep breath and turned to face Sirius and Remus.

"Can we go outside today?" The words were rushed and breathless but no less clear and Harry sighed in relief. There, he had said it. Even as he thought that Harry caught a glimpse of the back of Draco's head as the blond quickly retreated from the kitchen, obviously not wanting to take part in the impending conversation. Coward, Harry thought.

"No." Sirius' reply was firm and he didn't look up from his breakfast as he uttered it.

"Sirius-"

"I said no, Harry. I already told you that I didn't want you all coming down with the flu."

"But it isn't raining outside," Harry protested, resisting the urge to stamp his foot like a child.

Sirius looked up from his coffee and frowned at the window when he realised that Harry was correct before looking back at his ward.

"Even so, it looks cold outside and-"

"Why can't we go out?" Harry eyes were narrowed in anger and his fists were clenched.

Sirius stood abruptly. "Because I said so!" he roared.

Harry flinched and dropped his gaze quickly, not seeing the look of remorse that crossed his godfather's face. Sirius had never shouted at him before and he blinked furiously at the burning sensation in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Sirius. I won't ask again," Harry whispered. He walked quickly towards the door but was stopped when Sirius grabbed a hold of his arm. The flinch the teenager gave at the touch had Sirius closing his eyes in pain and pulling him closer so that he could wrap his arms around the frail form of his godson.

Harry cringed away from the embrace for a moment before sinking into it, holding onto his godfather tightly and blinking away tears.

The animagus buried his nose in the shoulder length mess that was Harry's hair while trying to keep his own tears at bay. "I'm so sorry, Harry," he murmured softly, making a soft rocking motion at the boy's soft sob. "I'm sorry for yelling at you." He knew how much Harry hated being yelled at and the fact that he had done it because the boy had asked a question was entirely too reminiscent of what the Dursleys had done.

Sirius looked up when he felt a hand on his shoulder and smiled waveringly when he saw Remus in front of him with a concerned frown on his face.

Harry looked up when he felt a hand under his chin and met Sirius' eyes. "I know it may seem. . . foolish to you," Sirius began, "but I can't just allow you to go outside unprotected. Remus and I have watched you all fight in a war. Each time there was a battle or a raid we never knew if we were going to see one of you again and the thoughts that ran through my mind. . . That day that we returned from another raid and we were waiting in the Hospital Wing trying to help in whatever way he could. When I saw you and Ron walk up and Blaise was. . ." Sirius closed his eyes tightly against the memory and Harry knew why.

On this day, the Death Eaters had staged several different raids at the exact same time in different locations across Britain. Their plan had been to get the Order of the Phoenix so widespread that they would be too weak to stand against them. The Death Eaters had underestimated the Order's numbers and in most areas they had been annihilated. However, several of the towns had been completely overrun with Inferi and the Order hadn't had enough strength to fight back. They'd had to retreat.

One of these places was where Harry, Ron and Blaise had been sent out to. It had been clear from the start that they hadn't had a hope to win this battle. Harry could still remember clearly the pain in his eyes from the ash of the burning houses, the screams and sobs of people from both sides of the battle, the smell of rotting flesh as the Inferi waded their way through dead bodies, mindless of anything except the urge to kill.

The three of them had become separated early on in the fight and Harry had been fighting Rodolphus Lestrange alone when the alarm to pull back had sounded. With a final immobilising curse, Harry had left Lestrange on the battle field and made his way back to the apparating point. He had met Ron on his way, looking bloody and bruised but not fatally injured and together they had stumbled through the wreckage and bodies, cursing the entire time. They had nearly been there when the sound of pain-filled screams had reached them and Harry had been unable to go forward without attempting to help who ever it was.

He had never before been so grateful for his saving-people-thing. They had rounded the corner of an alley to see Bellatrix Lestrange and Amycus Carrow torturing Blaise. A well aimed hex to break her arm had been enough to send Bellatrix on her way with Carrow hot on her heels, sporting a deep gash across his face that Harry took pleasure in knowing for a fact that it had scarred.

Both wizards had nearly collapsed upon seeing the mangled mess that Blaise was. He was barely recognisable beneath the blood and ash. Pulling themselves together they had quickly and carefully carried him between them to the apparition spot. He was seen to immediately upon arrival at the Hospital Wing and after an hour of trying to keep him alive, Madame Pomfrey had pronounced that he had five broken ribs, a broken leg and a dislocated shoulder along with a deep laceration running from his right shoulder to his left hip. The several rounds of Cruciatus curse he had undergone also had to be treated and it had been a long four days waiting from him to wake up so that they could find out whether or not he would be mentally damaged.

Neither Sirius or Remus had left his side the entire time. There had been other incidents during the war in which one of their wards had been hurt badly, but never as bad as Blaise had been that day.

"I remember," Harry choked, tears thick in his voice. "I remember."

Sirius nodded, grateful that he did not have to voice it. "I had to watch for two years as you were all hurt again and again and I could do nothing about it. I am never going to be that helpless again."

Harry smiled at the sheer determination in Sirius' voice. "Sirius, we're not in a war anymore." Harry stared at him when Sirius opened his mouth to speak until he closed it again. "Yes, I know there are Death Eaters still out there and I know how dangerous it is. But I don't want to have to live every day of the rest of my life afraid to go outside, constantly looking over my shoulder. I want to be able to have fun now that the war is over. I want to be free. To live. Isn't that why you brought us here in the first place?"

Sirius gazed at him before chuckling heartily and turning to look at Remus. "When did our boy get so smart?" Remus smiled softly at them both.

Harry grinned at him before looking back at Sirius. "Even if the war is over, do you think we can't protect ourselves anymore? Moody has Constant Vigilance so engrained in me that I'll still be peering around every corner when I'm an old man."

Both men chuckled at the thought of the limping, scarred ex-Auror and his rather unique brand of teaching.

"I've been stupid haven't' I?" Sirius looked sheepish now. Remus and Harry nodded simultaneously before the younger hugged Sirius again.

"I wouldn't want you any other way," Harry whispered in his ear, before letting go and hugging his other guardian. He ran out the kitchen door, only to reappear a second later.

"Uh, we're allowed out right?"

Sirius and Remus exchanged looks before nodding at him. They received a beam in return before Harry ran out again.

"People, we have freedom!" A chorus of cheers and whoops met his announcement and the two men in the kitchen chuckled at their wards happiness.

Sirius watched as Remus sat back down at the table to resume reading the newspaper. He walked up behind his lover and wrapped his arms around the werewolf's shoulder, chin resting on one of his arms. "Why didn't you tell me I was being foolish?" he whispered into his husband's ear, revelling in the shiver he received.

"I thought you should figure it out for yourself," Remus murmured, eyes scanning across the election poll for the new minister.

Sirius sighed and removed his arms so that he could finish cleaning up the kitchen. It was only a matter of minutes before the young wizards and witch came tumbling downstairs dressed warmly and with looks of excitement on their faces.

Sirius stood in front of them, checking that they were all suitably dressed for the cold weather. "Everyone has their wands?" A murmur of assent. No reason to keep them inside then. "Go on then," Sirius sighed.

They all practically bounced outside and Sirius grinned when Ron's shout of, "Look, its grass! Actual grass!"

Remus joined in his laughter. "I think they were inside for quite long enough."

Sirius grumbled an inaudible response.

The werewolf stood up and rolled his eyes, approaching his mate, whose eyes were fixed upon their gambolling charges. "Besides, what could possibly happen?"

The black-haired man crossed his arms across his chest and didn't answer. His eyes widened as he felt two strong arms wrap around his waist from behind and a soft kiss placed on his neck.

"Can't you think I've anything better to do when we have the house to ourselves apart from worrying about seven overly trained wizards?" His last words were emphasised with a long lick across his cheek.

The seven happy teenagers were quickly forgotten about.

* * *

Harry laughed happily as he watched Blaise chase Hermione around the garden with an handful of wet leaves. He shrieked when Ron shoved another pile of leaves down the back of his coat.

"Ron!" The red-head chuckled at the indignant cry and took off running in the other direction leaving Harry to grumble and pull the leaves out on his own.

The vast gardens that surrounded their house were even more spectacular when you were in them. The back garden was wide and spacious. Perfect for Quidditch games, was the first thought on most of the boy's minds. Huge, towering trees of all kinds silhouetted the boundaries with the only trees inside the gardens being willow trees. Various shrubs and flowers interspersed the garden here and there.

Harry smiled when he saw Neville off to the side from everyone else examining one of the bushes with a curious expression on his face. Leave it to the Gryffindor to want to know exactly what type of plants were residing in the garden he would soon be working in.

Hermione squealed when Blaise finally caught up with her and began pleading with him not to dump the leaves on her. While the Slytherin seemed to be considering it, Hermione swiftly changed into her animagus form, a red panda, and clambered up Blaise's arm where she started chewing on the leaves he had been planning to throw at her. Everyone else burst out laughing at the suprised expression on Blaise's face.

Learning to become an animagus had been something that Sirius had insisted upon when the war had gotten to its height. It was to be a hidden talent, kept between the seven of them, Ginny, Luna and their guardians. Becoming an animagus was something that had fascinated Harry ever since he had learnt that his father was one. But actually becoming one was not as much fun as he had imagined. It took a lot of hard work, some parts that they could thankfully by-pass due to Sirius' knowledge on the subject, and the first transformation turned out to be rather painful.

Hermione, who had transformed first, had been intrigued by her form. A red panda, native to Asia and a separate species yet related to the giant panda. The intelligent witch had quickly gone to the library in order to read up everything she could about her animagus form.

After Hermione, the transformation had come quite quickly to the rest of them. Blaise had given them quite a scare when they admittedly tall boy had begun to grow _upwards _until he had changed into a large bear, an Asiatic black bear according to Hermione, who after her own transformation, had come equipped with an encyclopaedia of animals to every animagus lesson

Following Blaise the bear had been Neville the horse. The shy, young man had altered into a majestic painted stallion with a long, flowing tail and mane. One who had given in rather reluctantly to Hermione and Ginny's pleas to ride him. After he had changed back Neville had spent the next day and a half with a bright blush on his face. Despite this, Harry could tell how proud he was of his achievement.

Draco and Ron accomplishments had been the source of hysterical laughter in the group when the two had changed into a lion and a snake Hogwarts house reference was not lost on any of them. The red-headed boy's animagus had been an African lion and majestic to behold. Draco had become an Emerald tree boa, something he had been rather smug about for several days afterwards.

Theo, despite his quiet and even timid manner, had a lot of inner strength and Gryffindorish bravery that had been only slighlty suppressed by his time with Greyback. Therefore, no one questioned it when they were faced with a Theo turned Bengal Tiger in the middle of the classroom one day. They merely congratulated their brother like they had everyone else and kept their fierce pride in him secret.

Harry, contrary to everyone else, had been a puzzle when he first transformed. He could still remembering the feeling like it had only happened yesterday. They had studying Charms in the common room or at least they were supposed to be. In other words Hermione and Theo were studying Charms, Blaise was studying Charms simply because Hermione was. Draco and Ron were playing Exploding Snap in the corner, away from Hermione's watchful eyes. Neville was examining a new plant with fascination and Harry was going over the steps of the animagus transformation.

By now Hermione, Theo and Blaise had transformed and they had all explained the feeling of changing to him, which is why he recognised the strange prickling feeling moments before his body began to feel like the skin was being stripped away.

A pained cry had everyone in the common room turning towards him before and the last thing he saw was their concerned faces before everything went black. He came to seconds later hearing muffled voices. While he was adjusting to his strange new vision that brought everything into startling focus, despite the fact that it was in black and white, someone had conjured a mirror and placed it in front of him.

Harry yelped at the reflection in the mirror and blinked in astonishment when it came out as a small yip. What _was _he? He shook his furry head and turned his head to the side curiously, blinking when the small black animal in the mirror did the same. Looking closer he gave a guess that he was some sort of fox. But he had never seen a black fox with a speckled black and white tail before.

Smalls paws scrabbled at the floor as he was lifted from the ground and into a pair of arms. Nose sniffing curiously he identified a smell that even in his mammal brain he linked with Ron. Even if it was his best friend Harry did not want to be lifted. His demand to be let down came out as a series of barks and whines.

Ron laughed and stroked his head with one finger. Harry whimpered and closed his eyes in pleasure. Alright maybe he didn't want to get down. The redhead's next word quickly had his mind changing though.

"He's so small." Ron yelped, pulling his fingers out of range of small, sharp teeth. "And _mean_!"

Draco and Blaise, who were standing behind Ron, chuckled. Theo glared at them, plucked a whining Harry out of the Gryffindor's arms and carried him over to where Hermione and Neville were flicking quickly through her encyclopaedia.

"Maybe he's a type of wolf," Neville suggested, glancing at Harry and holding out a hand which the unknown animal licked, then leapt from Theo's arms into Hermione's lap. "A smaller version."

The witch gave a small wince at his weight but continued to flip through the tome like book at a rapid speed that Harry didn't even bother trying to follow. "No, I don't think he's a wolf. Even if his nose resembles one slightly. A fox maybe, but I've never heard of a black fox and the bits of white. . ."

They all glanced at the young woman who was staring into the distance with a sudden look of realisation on her face. Snapping out of it, Hermione began to turn back in her search.

"We've already looked through all those pages," Neville pointed out, looking rather afraid of this sudden frantic Hermione.

Harry knew the feeling. A frenzied, obsessive Hermione with a sudden realisation, equalled a very scary Hermione.

"Yes, but we weren't looking for the right thing. Harry's animagus is an artic fox."

Harry flopped his head to the side to look at his equally confused friends. Ok, so maybe it hadn't been such a good realisation.

"Um, Hermione. . . Harry's black not white," Ron said cautiously.

Hermione levelled them all white an annoyed look. "Not at the moment no. However, seeing as its summertime and artic foxes change the colour of their coats from white to black during the summer." She turned the book around and pointed to the picture of two foxes, one with a white coat and one with a black one.

Hermione turned out to be correct when, once winter came, Harry's animagus form grew a thick and fluffy white coat.

A loud growl indicated Blaise's own transformation and with a chatter Hermione jumped off and dived under a bundle of leaves. Seeing the others change one by one, Harry made his own transformation, taking a moment for his sight to adjust before leaping forward and yanking on Ron's waving tail with sharp teeth. A roar of anger had Harry scampering in the opposite direction as fast as he could, all the while cursing the fact that it wasn't winter. Blending in with the snow while being pure white came in quite handy at times.

An impromptu game of tag was soon initiated with Theo as 'it'. Neville and Draco waited on the sidelines as the teenagers played, acting as referees of a sort. With hoofs instead of paws it made it difficult for the herbologist to play tag and Draco was more likely to get crushed underneath a lion or a bear than anything else.

Harry barked at Draco, who was wrapped around one of Neville's long legs, when he ran passed in an attempt to escape from Ron who had been tagged by Theo. The beautiful green snake returned a laughing hiss. Something that had surprised Harry when he had first changed with the rest of them was that he could understand what they were saying even in animal form. He was unsure whether this was an animagus thing or if all animals could speak to each other like this, but it came in helpful when. . .

"Behind you!" Draco hissed.

Harry yipped and took a sharp left turn, barely missing Ron's outstretched paw. He gave a yapping laugh at the growled curses the lion spewed at Draco and hurried away as fast as he could.

An hour later found all seven animagi slumped out in the middle of the garden in the shade of one of the willow trees. Harry was curled up on Neville who was lounging on the grass and eating it at the same time. Yawning sleepily, Harry lazily opened one eye when he heard an annoyed growl and found Theo batting away a fly while Ron snored away beside him, lying on his back.

The loud sound of tearing bark had Harry's ears twitching. One part of being an animagus that he could honestly say he was not fond of was the enhanced hearing. Glaring with his one opened eye had no effect on the big bear who was sharpening his class on the bark of the tree and Harry was not about to approach his brother he was roughly fifty times his size.

A hiss from above them indicated that Draco was none too happy about Blaise defiling the tree he was resting in either. Unlike the rest of them who would rather remain on the ground (apart from Harry whose instincts were telling him he should be in his den) Hermione and Draco were happier taking their afternoon nap in the tree.

"Playing 'tag' again?" came an amused voice from behind them.

Remus was greeted with a series of growls, barks, hisses and yips. "You're all going to be exhausted for the rest of the day."

Harry went to tell him that he forgot to mention bruised but remembered that Remus wouldn't understand him just in time. Instead he turned over on his back, tail over his tummy and closed his eyes. He felt that should be the universal sign in both animal and human world for 'sleepy, go away'. Apparently this was not the case because his guardian continued to talk.

"Alright then, I'm going to try and find a shop. We're running out of a few things and we need to go exploring at some point. Anyone want to, or should I say is anyone able to come with?"

Theo perked up and in a fluid movement shifted from a tiger back to a wizard. "I'd like to," he responded shyly and Remus smiled at him happily.

Blaise grumbled a bit, but dragged himself away from his claw sharpening to join them.

"Anyone else?" At the silence, interrupted only by more loud, growling snores from Ron, that greeted him, the former professor rolled his eyes. "Alright then, Sirius is taking a nap upstairs-" Remus flushed slightly but hurried on (Harry tried not to think about why Sirius would be tired in the first place), " so if you need him just call him."

Harry waved his tail lazily at his guardian and two of his adopted siblings when they made their way towards the car at the front of the house and happily snuggled into Neville while he dozed off.

The young wizard awoke a while later when Neville began to stand up. Yawning and blinking sleepily Harry stretched out, yipping an apology when his claws accidentally scraped the horse's back, causing Neville to startle. A glance behind him showed that the rest of them were still happily sleeping under the tree or in Hermione and Draco's case, on the tree.

They reached the back of the house quickly and Harry jumped down hurriedly, feeling dizzy from the movement of Neville's large paced walking. He changed back after hitting the ground, reaching into his back pocket to check for his wand out of habit. He had never moved his wand from his back pocket no matter how many times Moody had given out to him about it.

"Sorry," Neville apologised when he had turned back, "I wasn't tired and I was getting really bored. I forgot that you were on my back."

"'S okay," Harry replied, still feeling sleepy but waking up quickly. During the war they had gone through long periods of sleep deprivation and they had eventually adapted to it.

Neville grinned at his sleepy answer, then began walking up and down the flower beds that ran along the wall. They were empty for the most part with a few flowers still growing here and there, but they were largely overrun by weeds. Something Harry easily recognised from the amount of times he had spent pulling them up from his aunt's garden.

"Anything you recognize?" Harry asked when the other boy bent down to touch one of flowers. He himself was already lounged out on the grass again, basking in the heat. Quire contrary to his animagus, he thought in amusement.

Neville nodded slowly. "All muggle plants. There's some dahlias left, a few petunia's and some rose plants. It's mostly weeds though. There's a few nice rose bushes out there." He gestured vaguely towards the garden behind them. "But they haven't been properly trimmed in years."

Harry chuckled at the affronted tone in Neville's voice. To him, neglecting plants was the highest taboo. The black haired boy compare it to insulting the Chudley Canons around Ron or books around Hermione or Remus. It was nothing less the scandalous. He was the only one , however, who had any idea what Neville was taking about when he started rambling on about plants. Everyone else listened politely, but Harry could always contribute to the conversation, at least a little bit. He hadn't learnt nothing after spending years in Aunt Petunia's garden.

Neville had taken out his wand and summoned his garden gloves and a shovel while Harry had been musing. The brown haired boy tugged on the gloves and set about pulling up the weeds.

Having nothing else to do Harry conjured his own pair of gloves and joined him, instinctively knowing which ones were weeds and which ones weren't but letting Neville point them out to him anyway.

"Are you going to plant magical plants as well?" Harry huffed out, struggling with a rather persistent weed.

Neville frowned, then smiled when he saw Harry fighting with the plant. "I am, but not in the front garden. If we ever have muggle visitors and they see a Tancula or a Grumbly Bush, they're sure to know something's not quite right."

Harry chuckled, still yanking at the weed. "I think they moving branches or glowing flowers would probably give it away." Scowling, he gave one ferocious tug that had the weed removed from the ground and him covered in dirt. Growling angrily he cast a cleaning spell and brandished his wand at the other boy who was failing to withhold his laughter.

"Shut up," Harry griped, throwing a handful of mud at his adopted brother who was completely unbothered by the mud covering his shirt. Not surprising really considering the amount of time he spent covered with the stuff.

The worked in comfortable silence for several minutes broken only by Ron's earth shattering snores. Harry smiled softly when he watched Neville throw Ron furtive glances over his shoulder every few minutes.

"Hey Nev, when are you going to tell Ron how you feel about him?" Harry's voice was casual and he never looked up from his de-weeding, but he could feel Neville tense beside.

"W-what?" The wizard's voice shook and Harry took pity on him.

The Boy-Who-Lived turned to face his friend and placed a hand gently on his shoulder. "Its ok, Neville. I know. I see the way you look at him. It's the way Sirius looks at Remus. That sappy, love struck expression." Harry's voice was equal parts disgusted and curious.

Neville obviously heard the disgust and mistook it for disgust for his feelings for Ron. "I-I know its wrong but I-," a sharp intake of breath followed by a soft sob had Harry lunging forward and grabbing Neville in a hug.

Harry sighed softly. Neville's low self-esteem was something he sincerely hoped Ron could help with. They had all been so damaged by the war that it surprised him that they were still able to function at all.

The black haired boy pulled himself away from his friend and shook Neville lightly by the shoulders. "Nev, calm down." He waited until the other boy was looking him in the eye before he spoke again. "I think that you liking Ron is really cool."

Neville blinked rapidly, then looked at him shocked. "You do?"

Harry grinned and shrugged. "Sure. I think you'd be good together. And Ron needs someone to balance him out. I think you'd be perfect."

A bright blush covered the gardener's face. "Really? But what about-" Neville paused looking uncertain but continued when Harry gave him an encouraging smile. "Don't you need him right now? I know how close you two are and with everything that's happened I thought. . ."

The wizard shook his head, suddenly looking more serious. "Ron is my best friend. He's always been there for me and I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't had him during the war," Harry paused for a moment looking thoughtful, "but now that the war is over I need to start looking out for myself. Ron won't be able to be there all the time and he needs his own life too."

Neville looked much more assured, but there was still a hint of hesitancy on his face. "What if he doesn't like me back?" He sounded miserable at this thought.

"How will you know if you don't try? Besides I've seen Mr. Weasley sneaking some looks at your fine behind on occasion so he can't be too averse to the idea." A waggle of his eyebrows accompanied this statement and he yelped at the punch in the arm he received.

"Shut up," Neville laughed, dodging the kick aimed at him.

With a battle cry Harry launched himself at the other boy and caught him around the middle. A wrestling match ensued that woke up their adopted sibling just as Sirius called them in for lunch.

* * *

Embry Call caught the ball being tossed at him by one of his pack mates and quickly threw it as Paul. Lounging outside his mother's café/shop had become a new habit for the La Push werewolf pack. There had been no new vampires in their territory of late and the Cullens were, as usual, keeping an extremely low profile.

The vegetarian vampires as they called themselves had been concerned when teenagers in La Push had begun changing into wolves again and the Elder's council had decided to update the treaty. Embry couldn't see the difference. The still had the boundary line and the Cullens were still under oath not to attack any human or else. . . The only difference was that the pack had agreed to inform the leeches if they caught the scent of any vampire in Forks and vice versa. The wolves had also promised not to attack any vampire they saw with golden eyes. At least not without getting an explanation first. Most of them were the kind to rip apart first and ask questions later.

"Anyone seen the new people yet?" Embry's head shot up at the inquiry, which had come from Jake and he noticed that he wasn't the only one who did so. Quil, Paul and Jared who were with them all looked interested as well.

Everyone shook their head all looking equally curious and wary. The new family who had moved into the Old Willows had been a big part of recent gossip on the reservation. The house they had bought was famous for having being unoccupied for at least a decade now because it was so expensive, meaning that the people who had bought had to be from big money. There was also the fact that no one had seen them because they had yet to venture out of their new home in the two weeks they had been there.

"Well we saw those two older guys last week," Quil pointed out. "Besides they're probably still packing all their stuff away."

Jake nodded but looked uneasy. "Though that dude with the amber eyes was weird. I thought he was a vampire at first, it was only that he doesn't smell or look like one apart from his eyes that stopped me from attacking him. He smelled nearly exactly like us."

Embry nodded in agreement. He had been there that day and although he hadn't sensed anything from the man and had even spoken to him, Jake and Sam's weird reactions to the guy were enough to convince him. They were pack after all and you trusted each other in the pack.

"I don't think we have to worry about our newest residents' seclusion anymore," Quil said, tossing the ball at Jared.

"Why?"

"Because they're standing over there." He pointed towards a black car that had just parked across the road from them. Standing beside it was the golden-eyed man that Embry had spoken to the first time and two teenagers.

"Think they finally needed food?" Jake suggested, producing laughs from everybody.

The two teenagers were obviously not siblings despite they're obvious closeness. One was tall and muscled with chocolate skin of a deeper shade than the reservation's people. His hair was close cut and a small hop earring hung from one ear. The other was smaller and more lean. Embry found himself admiring the shoulder length dark brown curls that clung to the stranger's neck as he turned around and the shapeshifer found himself staring into deep, grey eyes.

Embry jerked as a warmth spread through him, lighting up places that had been ignored these past sixteen years because _he _had been missing from his life. This boy, so beautiful, so perfect, was his everything to him now. There was nothing else. There never had been anything else and there never would be anything else because all he needed was this boy.

"Theo. Theo! Why are you just standing there?" Blaise tugged at his brother's arm in confusion then followed Theo's eyes to where they lay transfixed on a group of boys sitting on chairs outside the shop they were about to go into. One of the boys in the group was staring back, looking equally spellbound.

The boys were big, Blaise noted. Both tall and muscled. They would be able to break Theo in two if they tried. He would have no protection against them physically whatsoever. Scowling, he pulled Theo close to him and wrapped a possessive arm around his waist. He might not feel romantically towards Theo but he'd be damned before he allowed someone to look at him the way that boy was doing.

"Come on Theo." The captivated boy shook his head as though in a daze and allowed Blaise to steer him into the shop not seeing the devastated expression on the face of the boy he had been looking at.

"Embry!" The boy remained unresponsive to his packs calls. Jake knelt in front of him and shook by the shoulders trying to coax a response out of his friend.

A hand on his arm stopped him before he could shake Embry again. "Jake stop it. That's not going to help."

Jake whiled around to glare at Quil, who had spoken. "Well we have to do something. There's something wrong with him!"

"There's nothing wrong with him," Quil replied looking frustrated. He pushed Jake out of the way and picked Embry up without breaking a sweat. "He's imprinted."

* * *

Um, hello? This is the part where I plead apologies because, believe it or not, my sister's rabbit chewed clean threw my charger for my laptop and those things are not cheap! Nice huh? Anyway, I'm very sorry for the long wait and it will not happen again. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and the little bit of pack/wizard interaction we had. There's much more of that to come! :D

Review!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary: **For the Black-Lupin family, Forks is a second chance at life and at love for a group of war-damaged teenagers and their parents. Post-War. Harry/Jacob

**Pairings:** Jacob/Harry, Remus/Sirius, Seth/Draco, Embry/Theo, Hermione/Blaise, Ron/Neville.

**Category:** Harry Potter/Twilight

**Genre:** Romance/Family

**Rating:** M/NC-17

**Warnings:** Mature themes, slash, gay (male/male) relationships, some angst, drama, gay sex, crossover.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or Twilight and make no profit from writing this story.

* * *

"He imprinted?"

"Yes."

"On a boy?"

"Yeah."

"Who's part of the new family who just moved in?"

"Yup."

There was a moment of silence before. . .

"So he's imprinted?"

A series of groans met Sam's repetitive question and Quil let out a frustrated huff, trying not to get angry with his alpha. "For the fourth time: Yes. Embry imprinted. On a boy. Whose name is Theo from what we heard. And he was with one of the men we saw last week so I presume he's part of their family."

Sam looked thoughtful for a moment before. . . "And you're sure he imprinted?"

This time Quil did looked annoyed. "He did. I recognised it from when I saw Jared imprint on Kim. You'll see for yourself when he shifts."

"If he ever comes out of this that is," Jake reminded them from where he was kneeling beside the couch where they had put Embry.

"Why is he like this again?" Sam grimaced at the glares he received. "I'm sorry. I'm still trying to get over the whole boy thing." His answer received a general roll of eyes.

Jake was the one who answered him. "The other boy who was with his imprint wrapped his arm around him." He frowned when he remembered he action. "He only did it after he saw Embry looking at Theo and it seemed it was more for show than anything else but-"

"Embry probably thinks they really are together," Sam finished and Jake nodded.

A snort had most of them turning towards Leah who had been silent since Quil had carried a catatonic Embry into the house.

"You think this is funny?" Paul snarled taking a step towards her.

He received a dirty look in return and another snort. "Yes actually. Look at you all. You're acting like somebody died."

"Leah," Sam's tone was patient and calm. The rest of them just wanted to punch her. "This is serious. Embry needs-"

"Oh, come on," she scoffed. She strode over to the couch and pushed Jake, who landed on his butt for the second time that day, out of the way. Grabbing Embry's face in her hands she brought her hand up and gave him a sharp slap across the face that had all the men wincing.

Embry came out of his stupor with a cry and reached his hand towards his face. "What-?"

Leah huffed and leaned forward still holding his face in her hands. "Embry, listen to me. You listening?" He gave a small nod. "Good. Yes, you imprinted. Yes, it was on a boy. And yes he was with someone else." Embry winced at the reminder and a look of pain crossed his face. "But that does not mean that you can't be a part of his life. He's _your_ imprint. Your soul mate. And no one in the world will be as perfect for him as you are. Ok?"

Embry nodded quickly and bowed his head to hide his wet eyes. The wolf girl stood and glanced around at the gaping men. "Morons," she muttered with a roll of her eyes.

Sam looked pained and took a tentative step towards her, his hand outstretched. "Leah. . ." She stepped back from him.

"No Sam don't, just. . . don't. Wouldn't want to leave Emily, your soul mate, waiting for you, would you?" Without looking at the rest of them Leah ran out the door and they heard the ripping sound of clothes being destroyed that indicated shifting.

They all, with the exception of Sam, turned back to Embry having become used to Sam and Leah's little fights a long time ago. It was merely another part of pack life.

"You ok?" Jared gave Embry a friendly clap on the back that probably would have broken a human's back.

Embry looked up at them and nodded. "I'm alright. Imprinting though. . . its something else."

Jared, Quil and Paul nodded in agreement while Jake just looked on feeling slightly isolated. The way they all spoke about imprinting was as though nothing else mattered anymore. Jacob had seen what his pack mates had gone through when they imprinted, but he had never actually felt it. It was something that every wolf of the La Push pack longed for, to find your imprint, your soul mate and it was supposed to be something rare. But by now over half of the pack had imprinted with only Seth, Leah and Jacob having yet to.

While the entire pack had been shocked that Embry had imprinted on a boy, an imprint was for life and was sacred to the pack making the shock disappear quickly. Jake watched with a he grin as his best friend was thoroughly congratulated with slaps on the back and handshakes. He pulled Quil off him and pulled Embry into a hug, thumping him on the back as he did.

"I'm happy for you man," he whispered, letting go after a second and he received a bright grin in return, followed by words that had the rest of the pack groaning.

"Isn't Theo just the most beautiful person you've ever seen?"

Of course, 'the honeymoon phase' as it was referred to by the La Push pack was the first few hours, sometimes days after a wolf had imprinte,d in which they constantly praised their new 'mate'. Quil's honeymoon phase had nearly driven them all crazy and Jake didn't think he'd be able to make it through another one. At least not sober anyway.

"I'll get the beer," Jake grunted. He hoped he could come up with an answer when Embry's mother would want to now why they wanted so much alcohol when they bought it from her shop. Especially sonsidering that the poor woman didn't know a thing about the La Push pack or that her son was a shapeshifter.

"I'll come with you," Jared yelped, eager to escape when Embry launched into why Theo was such a perfect name.

"Bring food too," Sam called after them. He had grown accustomed to their imprinting and didn't look nearly as bothered by Embry's mooning.

"And his eyes, did you see his eyes. . ."

Yes. Lots and lots of alcohol.

* * *

Harry drummed his fingers on the glass while he looked out the sitting room window where he could see the rain pouring down in an attempt to flood the world and drown them all. He sighed. Sirius and Remus had both agreed that they could go out whenever they wanted now providing that it wasn't raining so hard that they would be coughing up water when they came back in. Harry believed that this was one of these times.

"Yes! Boo-yeah!" Ron's shout had him turning around in time to witness a victory dance that involved the redhead pulling his shirt over his head. Something that Harry was sure Dean had taught him.

Blaise and Ron wereonce again testing out the PS3 Sirius and Remus had bought for them and were quickly becoming addicted to the games console.

"You cheated," Blaise hollered, hitting him over the head with the remote.

"I did not!"

"Did so."

Harry turned away when they began to beat each other up with couch cushions. Again. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Theo entering the room. The Slytherin sat on the other side of the window seat Harry was on and pulled his knees up towards his chest. His face was puzzled, something that the rest of the house had become used to seeing lately. Ever since Remus, Blaise and Theo had returned from La Push two days ago the latter had become even more withdrawn than usual. It was something that happened a lot if Theo was having very bad nightmares but the look of confusion accompanied hisdistance made Harry think it was something else entirely.

The ex-Boy-Who-Lived extended his foot and poked his brother in the leg. Theo looked at him as though only just realising he was there.

"What?"

"I'm here if you want to talk," Harry said simply. He wasn't going to push Theo to talk. Merlin knows he hated it when people did it to him.

After five minutes of looking out the window and following the trails the rain drops made on the glass, Harry heard a throat clearing. Theo looked both nervous and excited at the same time. He threw an anxious glance towards the couch where Ron and Blaise had been joined by Neville and Draco who were taking their own turns on the game. Satisfied that they were all occupied Theo opened his mouth to speak.

"O-on Tuesday when I went into the town with Remus and Blaise I-" Theo paused and looked away from Harry. "There was a group of boys, young men really, outside the shop and they were all shirtless."

Harry's eyes widened, knowing that Greyback's pack were not overly fond of clothes. They found them too human and restricting.

"I-I was frightened at first," Theo admitted. "I could only see _him. _But then I saw one of the boys and he-" Theo took an shaky breath and Harry felt anger rise in him.

"What? Did he do something? I swear-" Harry cut himself off surprised by Theo's laughter and the hysterical note it contained.

"No, nothing like that. He was just looking at me." Alright, Harry could freely admit to being confused now but seeing Theo's face he stooped himself from speaking.

"He was looking at me like I was the most important thing in the world and I felt," Theo blushed and ducked his head, "warm, really warm. And there was this feeling in my stomach like. . ." He trailed off there, his expression one of embarrassment and shame.

The dark-haired wizard could understand why. Theo had felt desire. He had felt attraction to another boy and it had clearly scared the crap out of him.

Harry scooted over on the seat and grasped Theo's hands in his, feeling how much he was trembling. "Theo, it alright," he whispered, desperately wishing he was better and comforting people. "You know what you felt was desire right?"

The brown haired boy gave a shaky nod and a soft hiccup when tears began to trickle down his cheeks. Harry's glare had anyone who had turned around at the sound focusing their attention back on the huge plasma screen. He pulled Theo closer to him and the other boy's head fell onto his shoulder, tears soaking through his Gryffindor-red shirt.

"I've never felt anything like that before," Theo whispered and Harry stopped himself from starting in shock. Never?

"I thought that Grey- that _he_ had broken me too much to ever feel anything for another person. That I would never feel desire or attraction. That I would always be alone."

Harry held back a growl at the mention of that monster. He had to concentrate on Theo right now.

"Were you upset when you felt attraction to that boy?"

Theo pulled back, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. "What?"

"Did feeling desire make you upset?"

Theo frowned, then shook his head slowly. "It-I was confused for a while and then I panicked a bit, but it made me feel happy I guess." Theo's blush spread over his cheeks and nose. "It didn't remind me of him at all because I was never happy in his presence. Not once." Tears spilled down his cheeks again and Harry had a feeling that they had just overcome something huge.

Not knowing what else to do the black-haired boy quickly transformed into his animagus form and crawled onto Theo's lap. He whined a bit when the crying boy held him close and cried into his fur, licking Theo's face while he did. The former Slytherin quickly cried himself out and lay back on the window seat feeling drained, with Harry curled up on his chest.

Harry awoke suddenly and immediately crouched into a defensive position on top of Theo's chest. He blinked rapidly trying to wake his sleepy mind up quickly so that he could defend his brother.

"Cub, its just me." A hand was held out to him which Harry sniffed thoroughly, recognising the scent of his guardian.

Yawning and no longer ready to attack, Harry jumped off his sibling's chest and onto the ground where he transformed. Sirius and Remus were standing by the window seat, both looking concerned.

"I'm alright," he reassured them, "But you might want to talk with Theo in the morning."

Both men nodded in understanding and Remus moved around Harry to pick up his still sleeping son. "I'm going to put him to bed," Remus mouthed and Sirius nodded, his worried gaze following the two out of the door.

Harry cast a quick tempus which showed that it was ten at night. They had only slept for an hour or so. The sitting room was quieter now with only Harry, Sirius and Draco there. Everyone else must already be in bed.

"Come on then," Sirius sighed, putting his hand on the nape of both boys' necks and giving them a small push. "Bedtime."

Harry and Draco bid him goodnight and left the room. The black haired boy yawned and stumbled up the stairs.

"I told Remus and Sirius that Theo had been upset earlier and that you were both asleep in the sitting room," Draco whispered. "I hope you're not mad."

Harry shook his head. "No, they should know that he was upset. I would have told them myself. When I woke up," he added dryly prompting a laugh from the blond.

"Do you still have that book I lent you?"

The brunet frowned in puzzlement. "The one by Townsend?" At the other's nod he continued," Yeah, I think so. It should be in my room, come on-" He stopped dead in the entrance to his doorway eyes widening in shock.

Ron and Neville were in a rather compromising position on the former's bed with the latter straddling the redhead's lap. Ron's hands were holding Neville's hips while the brunet had his own hand's wrapped in a Weasley sweater. Both boy's were looking at them in surprise which was quickly turning to embarrassment. Harry tried to avoid noticing their panting breaths, flushed faces and swollen lips and had to hold back a laugh at Draco's scandalized expression.

"Fuck!" Ron's word accurately summed up the situation.

Harry and Neville snorted. Trust Ron to remain articulate in such a situation. With the ice slightly broken, Draco moaned in horror.

"Bleach," he cried, lurching out of the room clutching his eyes. "I need bleach."

Rolling his eyes at the dramatics of the blond Harry stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. "You might want to lock the door if you're going to be doing that. You're so lucky it wasn't Sirius or Remus or you'd both be getting Sex Ed 101," Harry said, crossing over to his side of the room and collapsing on the bed. "Congratulation by the way. I'm really happy for you both." He grinned at the two blushing boys who returned his smile.

Harry turned away to give the two some privacy when they went to say goodnight to each other and tried to ignore the pang of envy he felt for their happiness. Getting up and searching for nightclothes seemed like the best way to block out the sound of kissing and he let out a sigh of relief when he heard Neville leave. He was happy that his friends were together but in no way did he need to see any exchange of fluids between them. Ever.

Ron yelped when a pyjama bottoms hit him on the side and he growled at Harry who just waggled his eyebrows.

"You look ridiculous," Ron laughed, throwing the pants back across the room. The brunet caught them and pulled them on.

"When did that happen then?" Harry asked casually. He could tell Ron was nervous about Harry would react. His fidgeting was enough to give it away.

"Two days ago," Ron whispered, plucking at his bright orange duvet. "Nev came up to our room after dinner and he just told me. I've never seen him look so determined."

Harry nodded but didn't speak. That was the same day he and Neville had had their chat in the garden. Perhaps it had done some good after all. Neville wasn't exactly the type to confront somebody, particularly about something like this.

"Then he just kissed me." Ron's voice still sounded disbelieving.

"What?" Harry blurted out. That sounded so different from typical Neville.

"Yeah," Ron sighed, looking blissful. "It was great. Just like I'd always imagined." He blushed then and Harry choked back a laugh with difficult.

"You're ok with this then?"

The brunet started at the question and whirled around to give Ron a bewildered look. "Course I am. Why would you ask that?"

Ron shrugged looking uncomfortable. "I dunno. Some guys wouldn't want to share a room with a gay and you grew up in the muggle world too so you wouldn't have our beliefs."

"Mate, I grew up with the worst muggles possible. Do you really think I listened to anything they spewed out?" Harry chuckled, remembering some of the more imaginative things that Vernon and Petunia would ramble about. "Plus it would be sort of hypocritical of me as well."

Ron looked relieved. "I kind of guessed about-about well you? I thought Draco and you had something for a while after the war."

That was a rather embarrassing memory for the former Boy-Who-lived. He and Draco had both needed comfort after the war and had turned to each other. The only problem was that they both needed something that the other couldn't give: Someone to lean on. After spending the war defending the Wizarding World and having everyone depend on him Harry needed someone that he could rely on, who could be strong for him and Draco was the same. They had had a mutual understanding and had broken up after a very short time. Ron was sympathetic when Harry told him but it was obvious that he had no worries that the same thing might happen in his and Neville's relationship.

When he lay in bed that night Harry mused over something very strange. For once in his life it seemed that he was the one envious of Ron rather than the other way around.

* * *

"Sirius, come back here now. Sirius!"

The young wizards and witch sitting around the kitchen table stifled their chuckles as their werewolf guardian chased their temporarily dog guardian around the kitchen. It had been decided earlier on that morning (when Draco had threatened Padfoot with a bath) that the Black-Lupin's would be leaving the estate together for the first time that day. As expected they were all delighted to be able to explore their new place of residence more thoroughly.

Remus had decided to stay behind and it was clear to them all that he needed the rest. The dark circles under his eyes proving as much with the full moon only a few days away. Sirius on the other hand was surprisingly enthusiastic about going out, especially for someone who had practically wanted to put bars on the windows and locks on the doors (not a great reminder for a certain someone) only a few days ago. The ex-convict however had one requirement for them being allowed to leave the house. Something that in his eyes was perfectly acceptable. He wanted to go as Padfoot and not as Sirius. His reasoning to this was that as Padfoot he could jump into the sea all he wanted while to most it would look rather strange for a nearly forty year old man to be frolicking in the water.

That this made perfect sense to everybody, was a reminder that they had spent far too much time around Sirius. Their werewolf guardian agreed but had a condition of his own. One that he and his spouse did not agree on for one simple reason. Padfoot hated wearing a lead and collar.

"Padfoot you have to wear it," Remus huffed, trying to keep a hold of his untoward mate with one hand and slip the collar on with the other. "Very few people allow their dogs off of leashes nowadays if they can't trust them not to run off." Remus levelled a look that had the black dog whining. "And the kids will let you off it once you reach the beach."

The teenagers all called their agreement but Padfoot remained steadfast in his refusal. He was not a pet, goddamnit and he would not were that thing. Now if he was human and Remus wanted to _play _well that was another thing entirely. . .

"Alright, enough is enough," Hermione said standing up and casting a summoning charm.

Padfoot's nose twitched when the big, juicy bone came flying out of the pantry and hovered over his head. No! They were trying to trick him with his appetite and his canine love for skeletons. Well, it wouldn't wo-Oh no. It was swaying over and back now. Over and back. Over and-got ya! And Remus had the collar on him. Oh well, it was totally worth it. Now where to hide this so no one can find it?

"Who wants to take it?" Remus held out the leash that had a happily chewing Padfoot at the end.

Harry got a sense of déjà vu. He was back in third year when Hagrid had asked who wanted to ride Buckbeak and everyone had stepped back except or him. He shot his _ex-siblings_ a dirty look over his shoulder. Bloody traitors. Reluctantly he stepped forward to take the end of the leash. The brunet could understand why they hadn't wanted to walk Padfoot. The wizard 'appeared' to be deaf in his animagus form and words such as 'stop', 'no' and 'bad dog' were completely beyond his comprehension. Walking also seemed to be another thing beyond his grasp. Running, bounding and even leaping: yes. Walking: no.

"Fine," Harry huffed, snatching the lead up and yanking on it. "Come on Snuffles."

They all snickered at the muffled growl Padfoot managed around a mouthful of bone. Remus walked with them until the gates where, after making sure they all had raincoats on and their wands with them, he saw them off. "And Sirius to try not to get into _too _much trouble," he called after them. The last thing they needed was for the muggle police to get involved if his spouse did something inappropriate in public again.

Straining against the pull of the lead in an attempt to keep his arm connected to the rest of his body was not one of Harry's more enjoyable pastimes. Even digging his heels into the ground didn't prevent Padfoot from slowing down and to passer-bys (and his siblings) Harry knew that it looked more like the black dog was walking him than the other way around.

"Slow down!" The green-eyed boy yelled. "Two legger here!"

Padfoot paid no heed to him as he continued to bound along the road that led down to the beach. They had left the rest of them behind them shortly after leaving the house but Harry knew that they wouldn't be too far behind them. The war had left them slightly paranoid and going outside, even into the muggle world, was making them all edgy.

Blinking through the drizzling rain, Harry was glad that he taken Draco up on that offer of an eye-correction potion. Trying to see with glasses in this kind of weather was hazardous to his health. He breathed a sigh of relief when the sea he had been spotting through gaps in the dense forest appeared along with the beach.

Despite that it wasn't the stereotypical beach with a sunny sky and women in bikinis, Harry felt a smile drift across his face when he took in First beach. The sand stretched for several miles and was surrounded by towering cliffs. It had something about it, something wild…

A loud whine brought Harry's attention back to the hyper-active dog at his feet. He had somehow managed to either lose or hide his bone on the way down which had Harry frowning because they had never stopped moving. Rolling his eyes, the young wizard bent over and unhooked the lead leaving the collar in place. The dog was off like a Firebolt, galloping head first into the swash on the beach.

His godfather's almost tangible happiness and excitement had Harry laughing although there was no way he was diving into those waves. According to popular belief, pneumonia was _not _good for you.

By the time the rest of them made it to the beach Padfoot was already soaking wet and seemed thrilled about it and Harry had his shoes and socks off with his toes curled in the moist sand. Ron and Neville, with their fingers intertwined, reached him first and dropped onto the sand beside him.

"Sup," Ron greeted him, red hair hanging in his face.

"You've all been disowned," Harry snapped, still not ready to forgive them for leaving him with Padfoot.

Ron merely laughed and clapped his friend on the back with his free hand. "Its called survival of the fittest mate." Harry's reply was a sharp kick aimed at his groin which Ron dodged by an inch, looking horrified.

"That was way out of line mate. Imagine if I could never get it up again? You'd feel guilty wouldn't you?"

Harry snorted when Neville slapped his boyfriend over the head, a blush colouring his face.

"Yes, my heart would bleed for your lack of a sex life," Harry replied mock-seriously turning away from the Gryffindor when he spotted Draco stumbling his way towards them.

"I can't believe I'm wearing a raincoat?" The horror in his voice was evident. "I feel like such a-a-"

"A muggle?" Neville supplied helpfully.

"Yes! A muggle! Its so unflattering as well. Why couldn't we have just put rain repelling charms on our clothes?"

Harry and Neville exchanged exasperated looks at Draco's naïve behaviour concerning all things non-magical. "I think the muggles might get a bit suspicious when the rain just bounced off us."

"Well my fashion sense shouldn't have to suffer just because muggles haven't learned how to stay dry yet." With visible effort the others remained silent, knowing that they could never win an argument with Draco where clothes were concerned. Besides how were you supposed to answer that anyway.

A few minutes later had Hermione, Blaise and Theo joining them and Harry saw Neville and Ron pull their fingers apart. So they hadn't told the rest of their siblings yet? Had they even told their guardians? Sure, they had only been going out for a few days yet but keeping secrets from each other was not the way to ensure peace in the family. Actually he was pretty sure that Remus and Sirius would be upset to know that their adopted children hadn't trusted them enough to tell them that they were in a relationship. Hermione would likely have a slap or two to give out as well.

A glare directed at the two earned Harry some shamed and embarrassed faces that had him feeling slightly satisfied. He had no plans to out the two. The Gryffindors should have more than enough courage together to do it themselves.

Feeling restless and bored with sitting down, Harry put back on his socks and shoes so that he could explore and the others followed his example. After casting an unnoticeable water repelling charm on his socks and shoes Harry joined Sirius and walked through the waves as they hit the sand.

It was peaceful here, Harry mused. The beach wasn't packed with people which he presumed was because of the weather. An excited bark had him turning towards Padfoot, only to see a blur of black fur speeding towards him.

"Padfoot don't-" Harry never finished his sentence because the manic ball of fur jumped on his chest, knocking him backwards and happily depositing a slimy pile of seaweed on his chest. Seemingly happy with his achievement Padfoot took off again, presumably to search for more of the stuff.

"Eww," Harry muttered, pulling the disgusting plant off him. "Yeah, yeah laugh it up." This comment was directed at Ron and Neville who were laughing hysterically even as they approached him.

Harry honourably resisted the urge to pull Ron to the ground with him when he was offered a hand and instead accepted it. Neville had picked up the seaweed from where Harry had flung it.

"Did you know that seaweed has highly revered properties that allow. . ." Harry blocked Neville's lecture out. It was easy after years of practice with Hermione and the black-haired boy really didn't want to know what sea algae was used for.

A sharp sting on his behind had Harry whirling around hand clutched to the abused area. "What the fuck?" he yelped, glaring at the piece of seaweed that Ron was swinging like a whip while grinning like an idiot. The redhead's boyfriend held his hands up as though in surrender.

Smiling sweetly at his best friend Harry gave a quick glance around, making sure that they were still alone on the beach which they were and cast a summoning charm on a the seaweed still in Neville's hands who backed away when he saw the looks on Harry and Ron's face. With a battle cry both boy's lunged forward, seaweed as their only weapons.

Almost an hour later all of the Black-Lupin siblings had been roped into the seaweed war with Ron, Draco and Blaise on one side and Harry, Hermione, Neville and Theo on the other. Padfoot had claimed neutrality but continued to bring them fresh supplies of seaweed.

Harry and his team were crouched behind a sand dune and playing their next plan of attack against the other team. Rubbing the welt on his neck Harry was grateful for the raincoats they were wearing. It saved them from the direct pain caused by the seaweed lashing against your skin.

"Alright new plan," Harry whispered, flicking his long, wet bands out of his face in annoyance. Their first plan had ended up with Hermione and Harry being tossed into the sea after trying to sneak up on Ron's team. "Hermione you distract Blaise, Neville you take Ron. Theo, you and I will be going after Draco. He's the sneakiest and the hardest to catch." The young wizard levelled a discreet wink at Hermione and Neville, both of whom blushed heavily. Hopefully they would figure out how to properly _distract _two hormonal teenage boys.

"Go!" Harry shooed them and then gestured to Theo to follow him around the dunes. Peeking out and trying to see through the rain which had become much heavier, Harry managed to spot an unmistakeable head of blond hair. He smirked at the sight as it appeared that Draco was the other teams lookout.

Turning back to his companion, Harry whispered the plan to which Theo smirked and nodded. With a finger to his lips Harry crawled out from behind the dune and began to pull himself across the sand using his forearms, keeping close to swash where it would be harder to see him. A soft noise from behind him indicated that Theo was following and he hoped the other boy was staying low as well.

With minimal difficulty (they had been trained to crawl over soil, not sand) the two allies were able to position themselves behind the former Slytherin. Harry held up three fingers to Theo who nodded.

"Three. . .two. . .one," Harry mouthed and shot up from his crouched position to lasso their opponent while Theo did the same on the other side. Surprisingly, Draco gave up quickly though not before he had gotten a few whacks of his own in with the seaweed. Harry was pretty sure that he had only surrendered in the hopes of salvaging his nearly destroyed designer jeans.

The three collapsed on the sand completely winded which surprised Harry. He had often gone days without sleep or food because they had another battle to plan or someone new to train and he had learned to adjust, to keep going even when he was on the brink of exhaustion. To feel out of breath from just messing around with his siblings brought a smile to his face because it was _normal._ He was normal. He wasn't the Boy-Who-Lived anymore he was Harry Black-Lupin. The feeling of being an ordinary teenaged boy was overwhelmingly delightful and had him laughing happily.

Draco and Theo exchanged bemused and slightly worried looks over the giggling boy between them unsure of whether or not they should be concerned. Harry batted away the hand that moved towards his forehead to check his temperature and sat up. He shook his wet bangs out of his eyes and blinked through the rain which seemed to be calming down again.

"Where are the others?" Theo and Draco glances as though only realising they were missing more than half of their family.

While brushing the sand off his jeans when he stood up, Harry spotted Padfoot still gambolling in and out of the waves further up the beach and grinned. It was only fair that Sirius should enjoy his freedom as much as possible after spending twelve years in prison after being falsely convicted.

Ron and Neville appeared after a few minutes looking blissfully happy and mussed. Obviously the smaller boy had been successful in distracting his taller boyfriend if their appearances were anything to go by. Harry gave Neville a discreet high-five behind his back when the two joined them.

"Has anyone seen 'Mione or Blaise?" Draco asked, huddling into himself. It was getting colder now, the wind was harsher and they were all wet.

His question received negative replies. "I haven't seen her since she was planning to ambush Blaise," Neville replied through chattering teeth.

The rest of them frowned, "Which way did she go?" Harry was beginning to get worried. Paranoia was a major part of war and his 'constant vigilance' was beginning to get angsty. What was taking them so long?

After a few minutes his nerves had reached their limit and his old war voice emerged when Harry ordered them all to take out their wands but keep them hidden. There was no reason for their siblings not to be back by now. The possibility that their new whereabouts had been leaked were possible but not likely. Harry wasn't taken any chances though. "Come on."

Less than two minutes later found Hermione and Blaise standing shamefaced while Harry berated them for having worried them. They had found the two in a rather intimate position against a tree with Blaise trying to get his tongue as far down Hermione's throat as possible. The others stood frozen in shock as they stared between their adopted siblings.

Draco's cry of "Sweet Merlin, not again" was what had broke them apart and after getting over his initial shock that that the two of them were _finally _together, Harry told them off for worrying them all.

"We're really sorry," Hermione apologized, clutching Blaise's hand tightly. "We just lost track of time, we didn't mean to worry anyone."

Harry gave them his best glare which them both flinching. Satisfied that they were properly reprimanded he gave them a beaming smile and skipped forward to hug them both.

"I'm really happy for you both," Harry told them and they could see his sincerity. Relieved smiles broke out over both their faces and they hugged him back.

"Thank you, Harry," Hermione breathed, clutching his raincoat in her hand.

"Yeah, thanks Harry. We weren't really sure how you all were going to react," Blaise said.

Harry laughed. "They'll be fine." He glanced back at his siblings. "In a minute or two."

Ron was gaping at them with his eyes taking up most of his face. His boyfriend looked torn between shock at them and amusement at Ron's face. Theo was glancing rapidly between the two as though trying to work out some kind of puzzle and Draco was nowhere in sight. The green eyed boy was sure he had heard something about drowning himself in the sea to get the images out of his eyes. . .

One by one, with Ron being last, the rest of the Black-Lupin's came around and happily congratulated Hermione and Blaise on getting together. Ron alternated between patting Blaise on the back and threatening him with bodily harm if he ever hurt 'Mione. The redhead hugged his bushy-haired friend before turning to Neville with a determined glint in his eye.

Unable to hide his smile, Harry was able to stop himself from jumping up and down on the spot excidely when Ron grabbed Neville by the wrist and tugged him into a passionate kiss. A moment of dead silence was broken by a wolf whistle from Harry, followed by catcalls from the Blaise, Hermione and Theo.

Ron pulled back from the kiss just in time to catch Hermione, who was practically bouncing in excitement, in an enthusiastic hug. Not wanting to let on that he had known before them, Harry congratulated his adopted brothers with everyone else, giving Ron and Neville a hug.

"Thank you," Neville whispered in his ear. At Harry's questioning look, he elaborated. "For your advice the other day." Harry brushed aside his thanks with a smile.

With a hand wrapped tightly around their significant other, the two couples walked ahead of Theo and Harry who straggled behind, giving them privacy. "Did you talk with Remus and Sirius?" Harry asked casually, cursing under his breath when he slipped in the sand.

Theo chuckled and pulled his brother upright again before sighing, a frown crossing his face. "Yeah, I did. They were really good about it. I could see how much it hurt Remus to remember _him_ though." His pale face was taut with pain and hate when he mentioned Greyback.

Harry could still remember how terrified Theo had been when he had first discovered that Remus was a werewolf. Not only that but he was also Greyback's childe. They had had to sedate Theo and none of them had ever seen Remus look so hurt before. The two had remained wary and anxious around each other until the day Blaise was tortured by Bellatrix and her Death Eater minions. Both had refused to leave Blaise's hospital room and therefore had to put up with each other. Days of looking after the injured boy had done wonders for their relationship.

After two days spent in near silence, Theo had cautiously asked Remus about his encounter with Greyback. The werewolf, though surprised, spoke with him openly about the incident, having become reconciled to his past a long time ago with help from his mate. And for the first time since he had left Nott Manor with Blaise, Theo spoke of his past and Greyback. His tale was delivered in a monotone voice with a solemn face, but when Remus had pulled the small boy onto his lap, sobs and cries had broken forward and Theo had allowed himself to grieve for his lost youth for the first time.

Blaise had awoken to see them both asleep in one of the uncomfortable hospital chairs. Although their pasts were less than pleasant, it had brought the two together and cemented a strong bond between them. Something that had been refined when Remus had killed Greyback on the battlefield. Harry personally believed that Remus and Theo had had their own private celebration about that particular death.

Theo sighed deeply. "They told me that they were glad that I had felt, well, you know," his cheeks flushed pink, "and that if I wanted to pursue a relationship with someone that they'd support me every step of the way. Though Sirius didn't look too happy about that last part," he added.

Harry laughed. "We're Sirius' babies. He wants to mother us for as long as he possibly can." He shook his head. "With the everything that's happened I don't really blame him. Hopefully he'll loosen up soon enough. That's what Remus is for after all."

"Harry!" Theo didn't know whether to be amused or disgusted. He settled on punching his brother in the arm. "That's gross!"

"Come on guys!"

The two looked ahead to see that they had fallen behind and the others were waiting for them at the edge of the beach. With a quick glance at the other and a shout of "Race ya", the two boys took off towards their siblings with Harry reaching them just before Theo did.

"No fair," Theo gasped, bending over his knees and glaring at a smug Harry. "You're a seeker. It's like built in your genes or something to be fast."

The emerald eyed boy shrugged. "Technicality."

"Draco and Sirius are waiting for us up ahead," Hermione pointed out where Draco was throwing a stick for Sirius to run after.

"Good boy," Draco cooed, rubbing Padfoot between the two ears and accepting the saliva-dripping stick from him. He received a canine grin and a wag of the tail in return.

"Ready?" He straightened up, holding the stick above his head.

Padfoot barked and leapt around the sand. Pulling his arm back Draco threw the stick as far as he could and watched with a smile when Sirius tore off after it. His parents, if they were here, would have been horrified to see him playing a muggle game of fetch with a dog. To see him wearing muggle clothes and standing on a muggle beach and for one of the first time in his life actually enjoying himself. Then again, Draco didn't think he had ever seen Narcissa Malfoy smile more than three times in his entire life.

Draco sighed and then blinked at the sight of Padfoot bounding him towards him at a terrifying pace. Alarmed, the blond began to back away hoping to avoid being crushed by his pseudo-dog guardian. He yelped tripped over something, pain radiating up his right leg.

"Shit," he hissed between clenched teeth, closing his eyes against the darts of pain in his limb.

"Hey! Are you ok?"

The young wizard opened his eyes and then blinked. There was three boys standing over him. Three very tall, very muscular, very _half-naked _boys and one sheepish looking animagus who he was going to murder when he was able to stand without crying.

"You don't look so good." The first who had spoken was now on his knees beside him, his face twisted in concern.

"Well, people tend to look like this when they're in pain," Draco spat.

Far from looking offended, the boy grinned causing the blonde's breath to stutter for a moment.

"True enough," he agreed. "I'm Seth by the way."

Draco tried to glare at him, he really did but another dart of pain shot up his leg causing his to blink back tears.

"Draco," he whispered. At the other boy's confused look he elaborated. "My name is Draco."

"Cool," Seth said and looked like he truly meant it. "I'm not sure how bad your leg is but if you'll let me I'd like to take a look."

The wizard glanced at him and could see only concern in those tawny eyes. Closing his eyes, Draco nodded and gave a whispered, "Ok."

"What the hell?"

Ron's mutter had them all looking up only to see Draco on the ground surrounded by three large boys. They all started to speed up, reassured that their sibling wasn't in any danger due to Padfoot's relaxed position beside him but not wanting to take any chances anyway.

Theo gasped when they got closer and Harry glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.

"What?"

The curly-haired boy shook his head but his cheeks were flushed and Harry quickly put two and two together. "Is one of them him? The boy who was look-"

"No," Theo whispered, "they were with him though."

Reaching the fallen blond, Harry could see that he had tripped over a piece of driftwood and from the looks of the gash on his leg that one of the boys was examining he had cut himself pretty bad.

"It's pretty deep," the dark-skinned boy told Draco. "You'll probably need stitches."

"Great," Draco groaned. "That's just great."

The boy grinned at Draco. "Ah, don't worry about it. I need stitches all the time."

The glare he received did nothing to quench his grin, something Harry found very amusing. Very few were able to hold up under Draco's 'death glare'.

"That's very reassuring," the fair-skinned boy snarled.

"It should be. It means you're in the hands of an expert."

There was a round of laughter from both the natives and the siblings at that and even Draco cracked a smile along with a blush. He rolled down his pant leg and made to stand up only to find an arm wrapped around his back and a handsome face inches from his.

"Wouldn't want you to hurt yourself," Seth smiled and Draco barely withheld a shiver when he glanced into those bright eyes.

Satisfied that Seth was looking after their brother, the Black-Lupin's turned their attention to the other two boys.

"Hey," Ron greeted. "Thanks for looking after our brother. Don't think we got your names?"

"I'm Jared, that's Jacob and the one on the ground is Seth," Jared introduced and Jacob gave them a bright wave. "Your brother? I'm sorry but you-"

"Don't look anything alike?" Hermione finished, smirking. "That's because we're all adopted. The one on the ground over there is Draco as you probably know. I'm Hermione, this is Blaise," said boy gave them a tight smile and a nod, his eyes trained on Seth's arm around Draco, "Ron and Neville," an arm still wrapped around the other, both wizards waved, grinning at the curious looks they received, "Theo," gave them a small wave and a shy smile, "and that's Harry."

Harry grinned at them brightly, opening his mouth to say something when he met the chocolate brown eyes of Jacob. His stomach jolted and his breath caught, while those intense eyes widened and then Jacob began to sway.

"Whoah Jake man, you ok?" Jared put a hand on Jake's shoulder to steady him.

The shape shifter shuddered and then with a shake of the head he seemed to steady. "Just got a bit dizzy."

"I'm not surprised," Hermione replied, eyeing their naked torsos. "You must be freezing!"

Both Jacob and Jared grinned. "Nah, we're used to the cold weather. It doesn't bother us at all. So you're part of the new family right? The ones who moved into Old Willows?"

"That's us," Neville replied cheerfully.

"So how many of you are there?" Jared seemed to be holding the conversation as Jacob appeared unable to take his eyes off of a flustered and blushing Harry.

"Just us and our parents." Theo seemed to have finally recovered his voice, but he blushed again when Jared's eyes turned to him.

"Sirius and Remus right?" The siblings simultaneously rose their eyebrows when Jacob spoke.

"We met them last Tuesday, outside the café here," Jacob explained, though he seemed to be speaking only to Harry.

An annoyed voice broke into their conversation. "Enough of the inane talking. Cripple over here." Draco waved at himself, ignoring the boy supporting him who seemed as though he could stay there all day.

"We should be heading back now anyway," Blaise said, glancing at watch. "Remus. . . and Sirius will be expecting us back for lunch."

Ron and Neville threw one of Draco's arms over each of there shoulders and led him away from Seth who looked rather disappointed. All the same he held his bright grin.

"It was great meeting you."

"Yeah," Jared added. "You should all come into the town someday. Old Willows is a bit isolated from the rest of the town. We'd be glad to show you around."

Jake and Seth both nodded frantically in agreement.

Hermione, Harry and Theo grinned back at them, while Blaise try to hold in his scowl.

"We'll make sure to do that," Hermione replied warmly.

A loud bark from up ahead distracted them and they turned to see Padfoot tossing a fish into the air.

Harry groaned and pulled the leash out of his coat pocket. "I'll get him."

"I'll come with you," Jacob blurted out quickly and was thankful for his dark colouring when he felt his cheeks warm.

The former saviour glanced at him, then looked away again and cleared his throat. "If you want," he replied hoarsely, feeling uncomfortably happily when Jacob beamed at him.

They walked side by side in silence for a few moments. It was exactly an awkward silence, but Harry couldn't have labelled it as comfortable either.

"So your from England right?"

Harry flinched at the sudden question and then chuckled. "What gave me away?"

"Well, your accent-" Jacob cut himself off when he saw Harry's smile. "You're teasing me aren't you?"

"Just a little bit." Harry smiled shyly at him, hoping he wasn't offended and Jake felt his heart beat faster having that smile directed at him.

"No! No, I wasn't offended," he replied quickly, struggling to keep his thoughts on the conversation when his wolf was doing a happy dance inside his head, its mantra something along the lines of 'my mate, this is my mate, I found my mate'.

"So what made you move to Forks of all places?"

Chuckling, Harry glanced around. "Yeah, its not exactly the first place you think of when you decide you want to move."

Nodding in agreement, Jacob waited for an answer.

"I'm not sure," the wizard replied finally. "I suppose the familiarity of the weather was the reason that we moved here. I know that sounds strange but. . ."

"Not, it doesn't actually," Jacob replied softly. "Humans like familiarity. It makes them comfortable. They feel safe. Protected"

Harry stopped and stared at the tall, muscled boy for a moment.

"What?" Jacob shifted uneasily. "Do I have something on my face?"

"No," Harry said softly. "Its just you said exactly how I feel when its raining. Some people associate rain with being unhappy, but for me it prevents a shield against the rest of the world. A sense of safety." Harry laughed self-consciously. "Sounds stupid when I say it out loud."

Jake reached a hand out and it hovered over his imprint's shoulder. "It doesn't sound stupid at all."

Harry gasped softly at the intense look in those chocolate eyes. He guessed this was the feeling Theo had described when Embry looked at him. The pleasant warmth spread from his toes to his fingertips. It was all encompassing.

Jake shivered and held back a growl when he saw the red colour creep over those beautiful pale cheeks. Those striking emerald eyes called to him and he knew then that his imprint, that Harry was everything to him. He would do anything, be anything, as long as it made Harry happy, that was all that mattered.

"Snuffles," Harry murmured, pulling his eyes away. "I have to get my dog. My family will be waiting for me."

"Sure, sure," Jake agreed readily.

'Snuffles' swallowed down the last of the fish he had caught feeling quite pleased with himself. He didn't particularly like the taste of fish but it was the principle of the thing. He had caught it so he had to eat. Bones were much nicer though.

Glancing up, the animagus saw one of his pups and a stranger walking towards him. He considered running for it, not feeling in the mood to be on the leash again. When his pup laughed though Padfoot's ears perked up at the sound and he wagged his tail. It felt wonderful to hear Harry laughing again.

Deciding to investigate, Padfoot bounded up to the two and yelped to get their attention.

"Hey boy," Jake greeted him, reaching down and rubbing his ears.

Yes, Padfoot definitely liked this human.

"Snuffles is kind of a weird name a dog like him," the Native American observed.

Harry chuckled. "Yeah, I thought so too."

'Snuffles' whined at the mocking of his name. Alright maybe he hadn't thought it the whole way through when he had suggested that Snuffles could be his fake name, but he had never thought that the name was going to stick.

After tugging on the dog's collar Harry soon had the leash reattached, much to Padfoot's displeasure. He sniffed the air as they began to walk back to where he could see the rest of his pups.

At once he identified the stranger's scent as the boy whose motorcycle he had been interested in last week. A beautiful piece of metal. Not as beautiful as his own though. Another peculiar scent was bothering his nose. It was vaguely recognisable, something he had smelt on his pups before. What-?

Oh no, no way. The boy, Jacob, was _aroused_. Because of _Harry. _Padfoot growled and then sniffed again. And Harry felt the same. Ugh! He butted between the two of them, forcing them further apart and listening to their conversation.

"So your um brothers, Neville and Ron? Are they. . . together?"

Harry nodded slowly, unsure of how this virtual strange would take that.

"But- isn't that a bit weird?"

The black-haired boy stopped and Padfoot growled. "Why?"

Jake took one look at Harry's angry expression and hurried to explain. "No, not because they're both boys. I have no problem with that, it would be a bit hypocritical if I did," Padfoot wondered if he was the only one to noticed the relaxing of Harry's shoulders or the slight smile on his face, "It's just that they're brothers."

"But we weren't brought up as brothers," Harry smiled and began to walk on again. "We've all known each other for a long time and been friends for years as well, but it was only in the last summer that Sirius and Remus adopted us. Hermione and Blaise are together too by the way."

"But why did they adopt you all?" Jacob looked puzzled.

They had finally reached the rest of the Black-Lupin's, as well as Jake's friends.

Harry turned and smiled shyly at the shape shifter. "Maybe I'll tell you sometime Jacob-"

"Jake."

"Sorry?"

Jake looked embarrassed. "My friends call me Jake."

With a bright smile and a twinkle in his eye, Harry nodded. "Jake," he whispered and Jake knew that his name had never sounded so good until they came out of those lips.

With one last wave the wizard rejoined his family, practically bouncing while he did so and dragging a disgruntled Padfoot along with him.

Yes, Padfoot definitely hated that human.

* * *

Thanks everyone so much for the response to the last chapter! It was completely overwhelming but fantastic to see how much you all liked it! Hope you liked this one just as much. :D

Please review, they inspire me to write faster!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary: **For the Black-Lupin family, Forks is a second chance at life and at love for a group of war-damaged teenagers and their parents. Post-War. Harry/Jacob

**Pairings:** Jacob/Harry, Remus/Sirius, Seth/Draco, Embry/Theo, Hermione/Blaise, Ron/Neville.

**Category:** Harry Potter/Twilight

**Genre:** Romance/Family

**Rating:** M/NC-17

**Warnings:** Mature themes, slash, gay (male/male) relationships, some angst, drama, gay sex, crossover, canon for books one to four and AU after that.

* * *

"What?"

"Yup."

"Both of them?"

"That's what I said."

"How is this even possible?"

"Don't ask me, but I'm not going to complain if it stops Jake whining over that Swan girl."

"But-but-"

Jared clapped a hand onto his alpha's shoulder and smiled sympathetically. "I leave you to it Sam. I'm headed off to meet Kim down at the beach."

With once last clap, the shape shifter was out the door, leaving a shocked Sam behind to deal with not one, but three of his pack who had imprinted in the last week. Who elected him alpha again? And where were they so that he could kill them?

Sighing, Sam approached Jake who was sprawled across _his_ couch and looking ignorantly blissful.

"'Sup," Jake beamed at his alpha.

Sam shook his head and glanced around his living room/kitchen. While Jake was lying across the couch, Seth was rooting in the fridge for something to eat. He claimed that imprinting made him hungry. As if they all didn't eat their weight in food everyday anyway.

Embry, on the other hand, was sulking outside the front door. He seemed more than disappointed that Seth and Jake had both gotten to talk with their imprints and he had not.

"Up," Sam demanded Jake, who swung his legs off the end of the couch to make room for his pack mate.

For the first time since his return from the beach, Jake came out of his imprinting induced high and saw that his alpha looked exhausted.

"What's wrong Sam?"

Sam glanced at him wearily and shook his head.

Jake frowned. "I'm supposed to be your beta," he reminded Sam. "Talk to me."

Rubbing his hands over his face, Sam sank back into the couch. "Its just. . . doesn't it seem a bit suspicious to you? That three of our pack imprinted within a few days and on people in the same family?"

An image of Harry's glowing emerald eyes appeared in Jake's mind and he had to hold back a growl of pleasure. "I guess," he admitted finally. "But we're shape shifters man. What's normal about that? Besides, everyone knows that imprinting is for life, so I'm not going to question it."

Sam nodded. "I know. You're right and I'm not trying to keep you and the boys from your mates. I don't know what I would do without Emily after all, its just. . ."

"You worry about us," his beta finished and Sam grinned wryly at him.

"I can't help it," he admitted. "It's a built in alpha thing. How many is there in this family anyway?"

The younger male scratched his head. "Um, well you've met Sirius and Remus. They're the parents. All the kids are adopted," he added at Sam's confused look. "Then there's Harry, Theo who's Embry's imprint, Draco who's Seth's, Blaise, Hermione, Neville and Ron. Oh, and Snuffles."

"Snuffles?"

"Big black dog. Built like a bear."

Sam snorted at the irony of a dog like that with a name like Snuffles. He sobered up quickly. "I'm gonna have to inform the elders."

He received a nod in return. "We can have a pack meeting at my house tonight," Jake offered.

"Good idea," the alpha agreed. "I'll contact Harry, Sue and Quil, you tell your dad and the rest of our wayward pack."

Jake winced. "How about you tell Leah?" he suggested. The wolf girl was not going to be happy about the new turn of events. It left her the only person in the pack who had yet to imprint.

The alpha winced, then nodded reluctantly. "Fine."

"I'm home! And I have muffins!" Emily's voice called to them from the front door, where she had entered carrying bags of groceries.

Jake, Seth and Embry happily helped themselves to the pile of muffins. With a bright smile and a greeting kiss, Sam helped his imprint in putting away the groceries, glad to be distracted from thinking about the pack meeting tonight. Even if it was only for a little while.

* * *

Harry struggled for air, trying to push against the invisible weight pressing down on his chest but it was no good. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't think .There was blood on the floor, on his hands, all over his clothes. . .

"Harry!"

He was going to die. There was no air.

"Come on Harry. Take a nice deep breaths. In through your nose and out through your mouth."

He made an effort to follow the instructions and took a deep, stuttering breath.

"That's it. Again."

Another breath. In. Out. In. Out. The weight was slowly lifting off of his chest. He could breathe again.

"Good man. Feeling better?"

Harry slowly opened his eyes and stared blearily into Sirius' worried face. He continued to take deep breaths, in and out. After a moment he realised he was sitting on the kitchen floor, his godfather kneeling beside him.

"What happened?" he asked fuzzily.

Sirius grinned wryly, his eyes full of concern. "You cut your finger chopping the vegetables. I think the blood must have given you a flashback. It set off a panic attack."

Harry groaned. It had been nearly two weeks since his last panic attack. He had thought that the medicine was finally working.

"Did anyone see?" he mumbled, embarrassed. He always felt humiliated after his attacks. They made him feel weak.

"Ron was here when it happened, but he left to give us some privacy. Knew you didn't want an audience."

A sense of gratefulness filled Harry at his best friend's consideration. Everyone in the house knew that Harry had been diagnosed with depression and General Anxiety Disorder after the war. Madame Pomfrey had put him on medication that was supposed to relieve the panic attacks and it seemed to be working pretty well. Every now and again though, something small would set one off and Harry dreaded the moments when that familiar tightness began to build up in his chest again.

"Are you able to stand up?"

Harry blinked at the hand being offered to him and after a second, grabbed it, allowing Sirius to pull him to his feet. He swayed for a moment. That was another thing he hated about those damned attacks. How dizzy he always felt afterwards.

"Why don't you head up to your room and rest for a bit?" Sirius suggested. "I'll finish off dinner and call you when its done."

"'K." He wasn't in the mood for arguing that he was fine. Besides still felt light-headed, so with little fuss Harry wobbled his way out of the kitchen and slowly made his way upstairs.

With a muffled thump he collapsed face down on his bed, turning his head to he side in order to breathe. Sometimes he wished that he could just erase the last few years from his life. There would be no more nightmares or flashbacks or panic attacks. The only thing that had stopped him was the fact that he would lose the memories he had of his friends and his adopted parents from the last few years. Still.. . . he could be perfectly normal. He snorted in the bedcover. Yeah, right. He, the Boy-Who-Lived would never be normal.

Besides, normal was way overrated.

With a sigh Harry turned over onto his back, grinning when he saw the moving images on the ceiling. Hermione, at Ron's request had found a nifty charm that made images of a Quaffle, bludgers and a snitch race back and forth over the ceiling.

The young wizard's eyes were tracking the motions of the small gold ball when a sharp rap at the window caught his attention. His eyes widened at the sight of the bright blue owl hovering outside his window. Mouth agape, the boy didn't move until the owl tapped on the window again, hooting impatiently as it did so.

Eyes fixed on the strange apparition, Harry stumbled off of the bed and opened the window. The blue owl flew in and perched on the one of the bed posts, one leg with a letter attached to it sticking out in Harry's direction. Numbly Harry removed the parchment and allowed the owl to hop up on his arm where he guided it over to Hedwig's cage where it could rest and recuperate.

Harry's faithful companion merely opened one golden eye to peer at her new companion, before ruffling her white feathers and tucking her head beneath one of her wings again, ignoring the strange new bird who was taking his fill of her food and water.

Blinking rather rapidly, Harry tore open the letter and unfurled the parchment. He smiled in delight when he saw Luna's familiar loopy writing.

_Dear Harry and my friends,_

_I'm hoping that you are all enjoying your new home in Forks and the company there. Father finally recovered from his injuries in the Final Battle to leave St. Mungo's. We've left England and have begun to travel across Europe in search of Blibbering Humdingers and Foofoo Skippers. Do you know that they have the power to cure the effect of the Cruciatus Curse? We've already encountered a Crumple-Horned Snorkack in Sweden and he was very polite. Not at all as vicious as we were led to believe._

_We met Hagrid and Madam Maxine when we passed through France and they seemed to be enjoying their holidays. Thistle, my owl, was found in Hungary. He was a gift from a warlock who says that he's a rare from of owl known as the Lagoo. Isn't he pretty? We're taking a magic carpet to Bulgaria in about an hour but I wanted to check in before that and tell you that we're ok. I know how much you worry. Watch out for the Nargles, they have a vast population in North America._

_Enjoy dinner and give my best to everyone._

_Lots of love, Luna._

Harry shook his head at Luna's ability to know things despite the fact that she was thousands of miles away. It was believed in their group that Luna had a hint of a Seer in her. She was capable of knowing things, sensing them almost, before they even happened.

Folding the letter carefully, Harry placed it in the chest Sirius had given him for his sixteenth birthday. It contained every letter he had ever received from his friends, as well as the photo album Hagrid had given him in first year, his invisibility cloak and a number of other treasured possessions. He relocked the chest with a quick wave of his wand, brushing his hand over the dark wood.

Dark. Like Jake. The wizard felt himself blushing at the thought of the young man he had met on the beach today. He didn't think he had ever seen someone so handsome before. All those sleek muscles covered in smooth, brown skin. Dark chocolate eyes. Harry shivered at the thought of running his hands through that bristly black hair and a chuckle escaped him.

He flopped back on the bed feeling much more relaxed than he had when he entered the room as he remembered the way Jake had almost stammered when he spoke to him, but had seemed confident as well. He was obviously nervous around Harry and it didn't a genius to work out why.

Harry wasn't exactly against the idea either. There was something intense in Jake's eyes when he looked at him. Something almost animalistic. It made the boy feel as though he was the only who Jake could see, the only who mattered. . .

"Harry! Dinner!"

Moaning and grumbling, Harry pushed himself off the bed but perked up at the smell that wafted through the house. Sirius might hate cooking but he made the most delicious stew.

The table was already full when Harry walked into the kitchen and he took a seat between Draco and Ron, whose plate was already full to the brim.

"Ron," Remus scolded as he put a plate of rolls on the table, "try to leave enough for everybody else."

"Sh'wry," the red-head mumbled even as pushed another potato onto his plate.

Draco, Theo and Hermione all made sounds of disgust while the rest of them merely looked amused. They had long since become accustomed to Ron's dinner manners or lack thereof. Neville however, slapped his boyfriend over the head.

"Owf," Ron protested, through a mouthful of steak. "What was that for?"

"For making Draco looked like he wanted to throw up," his boyfriend replied serenely.

There was a round of laughter at Ron's disgruntled expression. They all tucked into their food, complimenting Sirius on his spectacular stew and answering Remus' questions about the beach.

"It was quite nice," Draco admitted. "The view was actually beautiful. I'm not so fond of the random pieces of wood lying around though."

He received chuckles as well as winces at his words. The gash on his leg had needed a complicated Healing Charm from Remus once they got home and he was still limping on it a little bit. Fortunately, from Draco's vain point of view, it wouldn't scar or leave any kind of mark at all due to Remus' prowess in healing.

"I don't know about that," Harry said, taking a roll from the basket and shooting his brother a glance. "When you have a big, strong boy to fuss over you, it wouldn't be so bad."

"Harry!" Draco hissed. His pale skin flushing at the explosion of laughter from his siblings and Sirius. Remus merely looked confused.

"What am I missing?" he inquired.

"Draco had a knight in shining arm rush to his aid today," Theo teased, dodging the piece of meat flung his way by an embarrassed blond. "He seemed quite happy about it too."

"A boy?" Remus was frowning and his eyes were flashing gold.

Sirius rested a hand on his mate's shoulder and rubbed reassuringly. "It was nothing. Just one of the kids we saw outside the shop in La Push the first day we were here."

The werewolf seemed to calm down a bit at that, having sensed no malice or evil from the boys. Just a faint animalistic smell that was actually quite soothing.

"Besides Harry," Sirius said, "You haven't a leg to stand on. I was there when you were talking to that Jacob boy."

Harry flushed crimson and scowled at his sibling's, not seeing what was funny. "His name is Jake," he snapped. "And its none of your business Ron, so stop elbowing me!"

"It is actually." Remus had that 'I'm your parent so don't mess with me look' on and even the dog animagus was looking more serious than usual. "I don't mind any of you making friends with the people leaving here. I'm encouraging it actually. But if it becomes anything more. . . significant with any of them, then Sirius and I will want to meet them. No exceptions."

Harry, Draco and Theo were all staring at their food as though wishing the could drowned in it. They simultaneously made a muffled sound of agreement to Remus' unvoiced question while hoping not to die of embarrassment.

"As if I'd want to go anywhere near that overgrown manchild again," Draco sneered.

"Well, you looked pretty cozy in his arms today," Harry murmured slyly.

"Shut up you!"

"You know its ok to like him, Draco," Harry said softly.

The blond flushed and bit his lip before shaking his head. "It doesn't matter because I don't like him."

"Mmmhmm."

Harry then proceeded to tell them all about Luna and the rather intriguing bird who had brought her letter. Everyone was happy to hear that the Ravenclaw and her father were happy and safe in Europe. After Xenophilius had been badly injured in the war, the Healers at St. Mungos had thought for a long time that he wouldn't recover from his injuries. During that time, they had all supported Luna and Sirius and Remus had offered her a home with them if her father did not recover. Thankfully Mr. Lovegood made a full recovery and they hadn't had to take Luna with them. Although the blonde haired girl was very dearly missed at times, with no one to burst into the conversation with completely random but surprisingly intellectual comments.

With dinner finished the family spread out through the rest of the house leaving Ron and Draco to do the dishes. In the end they all grouped together in the living room with Sirius and Remus cuddled together on one of the couches, Blaise and Hermione on another with the rest of them spread out across the rest of the seats.

Spending time together as a family was something that they aimed to do as often as possible. It was something that had not been possible during the war and they were not going to take it for granted now.

Grabbing the remote from the coffee table, Remus switched on the large plasma screen television installed on the wall. Thankfully, Hermione and Harry had been able to do a better job at explaining to Sirius and the other purebloods how it worked. After settling on a programme called 'House M.D.' Remus relaxed, content to cuddle with his mate and keep watch over his kids.

The programme turned out to be surprisingly amusing with the sarcastic wit of House and his minions. The adults and children alike became quickly enthralled with the show's plot and characters. Another loud round of laughter after House made a highly inappropriate comment to Cuddy was interrupted when the fireplace flared green and a familiar figure dressed in luminous orange robes stepped out.

"Albus!" Remus and Sirius chorused, standing up to greet their former headmaster.

"Professor Dumbledore," the siblings exclaimed, clambering around to meet him.

"My children," the aged wizard greeted them with a beaming smile, before turning a mock frown on the younger ones. "What have I told you to call me?"

The siblings exchanged grins. "Uncle Albus," they repeated dutifully.

"Very good," Dumbledore replied solemnly, before smiling. "Now don't I get a hug?"

They rushed forward and gathered in a group hug around the wizard, all of them laughing despite the rather painful elbows or knees prodding various parts of their body.

Albus Dumbledore had after all, been many peoples' saving grace during the war. Albeit being the figurehead, alongside Harry, for the war against Voldemort to the people of Wizarding Britain, he was so much more than that to the people close to him. To Draco, Theo and Blaise he had an olive branch. One of few to offer them safety and refuge when so many would have refused based on the fact that they were from Dark families and Slytherins to boot.

Despite the fact that all three of them had changed sides soon after the war begun, they were labelled as Death Eater scum by most of the light side and as traitors by the dark. Dumbledore had welcomed them with open arms and plenty of lemon drops. He has assured them that Harry would not be prejudiced against them, but they had still hesitated when they followed the headmaster into the Gryffindor common room that very first time.

All eyes had turned to the esteemed headmaster and the three Slytherins standing in the portal hole, but with fierce glares from Hermione and Ginny they had all turned back to what they were doing. With a smile Harry had stood up and beckoned the over and with an offer to play exploding snap their friendship was sealed.

The only reason Remus and Sirius were together was due to the headmaster. Despite the fact that they were mates and loved each other dearly, the marauders felt that they're relationship could not survive after everything they had been through. In Sirius' opinion he was too damaged for his mate. Azkaban had ripped him of his looks and his mind. It was Albus who healed the animagus' mind using an obscure branch of Legilimency.

While he hadn't erased Sirius' memories entirely, for do that would take a part of the man himself, he had blunted the emotions that surrounded them. The animagus would keep his memories of Azkaban, but when he remembered his stay in the prison he wouldn't experience the severity of the emotions that came with them.

Remus on the other hand had no bad memories that needed healing. For him it was the thought that he had believed his mate capable of murder and betrayal and had left him to rot in Azkaban for twelve long years. Neither he nor Moony could get past this disloyalty to his mate as in a pack, loyalty meant everything.

Oddly enough the night of the full moon had taken care of that for them. Once his cubs had accomplished the animagus transformation they had taken to spending the night of the full moon with Moony and Padfoot. However, during their sixth year Severus Snape had been gravely injured in battle and had gone into a coma. Trusting no one else to make the Wolfsbane potion for him, Remus had decided to go without for just one moon when Draco and Theo swore they would learn how to make it in time for the next moon.

Remus and Sirius were both adamant that their foster children would not be allowed anywhere near a wild werewolf and so the two had retreated to the Shrieking Shack on their own that night. Remus' change was gruesome as always and the large black dog had winced at the pain-filled howls that had filled the house.

Once the transformation was over and Moony was in control for the first time in several years, he did something that, without Remus there to control him, he was now free to do. For the first time ever Moony had rolled over on his stomach, showing his vulnerable underbelly to his mate and whined pitifully in apology. Sirius had been beyond shocked.

Despite his rather quiet nature, Remus had always been the dominant in their relationship due to his alpha werewolf nature. Never before had he acted in anyway submissive to Sirius, especially during the full moon.

Moony had whined again. His eyes pleading forgiveness and Sirius, after getting over his shock, had quickly granted it. Taking a small piece of the flesh on Moony's neck between his teeth, he had bitten down gently. Not enough to draw blood but enough to sting and then had licked his mate's nose happily in forgiveness.

They had spent the night playing and hunting in the Forbidden Forest, going back to the Shrieking Shack after a few hours and curling up the king-sized bed in the master bedroom together. A sore Remus had been woken in the morning by a sharp slap to the chest.

"Ow! Sleeping," he whimpered, turning away from the offending hand.

"Don't you turn away from me Remus Lupin," Sirius scolded his mate, who received another slap this time on his arm.

"Stop it," Remus whimpered. "Hit me some other time. Preferably not after the full moon."

"Oh no. Not after what happened last night."

Remus eyes shot up and he jumped away, uncaring of his nudity. "Last night?" he whispered, looking terrified. He struggled to remember, but it always took a few days for his and Moony's thoughts to merge after the full moon. "Merlin, what did I do? Did I hurt you?"

Sirius softened at the fear in his mate's eyes. "No, you didn't hurt me, you idiot."

"But-"

"I forgive you," Sirius interrupted softly, reaching a hand out to stroke the werewolf's cheek.

Remus' eyes widened. "What?"

"I forgive you." Sirius repeated, love prominent in his gaze and Remus didn't even had to ask what he was talking about.

"Sirius," he choked out through the lump in his throat. He lunged at his mate, burying his head in the animagus' abdomen and sobbing.

The black-haired man held his lover and let him cry all his hurt and anger out. Merlin knows Remus had done this for him often enough since he had escaped from Azkaban. He stroked the grey-streaked hair and murmured softly comforting words when he heard Remus' repeated words of 'I'm sorry' and 'my mate, my beautiful mate'.

Needless to say when the two wizards had returned to the castle the next day, Harry and his friends were delighted to see them both beaming and holding hands, with Sirius limping a little bit as well. Albus too had been happy for both men and had congratulated them gleefully, giving them a bottle of the Three Broomsticks finest elf-made wine to celebrate. No one had seen the wistful glance in his eyes when he gazed at the blissful men. Or dreamed that he would be thinking about the one man he would always love, the only man he would ever love. In life and in death.

For Harry the former headmaster was a mentor, a pseudo grandfather, a friend and, most importantly, a confident. He was the only person, of all the people Harry was surrounded by, that knew exactly what Harry was going through. He alone knew the burden of having to face down a Dark Lord. Of knowing years beforehand that one day, sooner or later, he would have to step up to the mantle and do what everyone was expecting him to do. To face down a Dark Lord and win.

Their circumstances were different of course. Harry had been prophesised from birth that he would be that one to take down Voldemort. And however much both wizards, young and old, disliked the idea of having your path chosen for you they also knew that the Wizarding public would accept no one except Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived as their saviour.

"I knew him before you know," Dumbledore murmured, staring into the fire.

Harry glanced up from his cup of tea. "Who, sir?"

It was early October in his sixth year and he and Dumbledore were sitting in armchairs around the fireplace in the headmaster's office, drinking tea. They had been discussing the Horcruxes and how to go about eliminating them without letting Voldemort know with Snape. They had finished their talks only a few minutes ago and while Snape had disappeared as fast as he could, Harry stuck around for awhile to talk. Something he had taken to doing recently.

Dumbledore sent an admonishing look that had Harry shrugging sheepishly. "I'm sorry. Who, Albus?"

"Gellert," Dumbledore sighed.

Blinking in took Harry a moment to connect the name and when he did he gaped. "Grindewald?"

The older wizard nodded sadly and Harry was startled to see tears in those shockingly blue eyes. He wouldn't judge. He'd had enough prejudice to last him a life time, he simply asked softly, "How?"

Dumbledore took a shuddering breath, "When I was eighteen my mother died. My sister, you see, had been through a terrible trauma at a young age at the hands of three muggle boys. My father hunted down the boys who hurt her and hexed them for what they had done to an innocent six year old. He was sentenced to life in Azkaban for it."

Harry gasped and couldn't help himself. "But it was in your sister's defence," he protested. "How could the Wizengamot-"

"He broke the law by not only performing in front of muggles but also on them," Dumbledore reminded his student gently, touched by the concern and kindness the boy was famous for. "No matter what the boys had done, they believed my father had to be punished."

The old man's face contorted in pain. "Arianna was damaged irreparably. The attack left her unable to function socially or to properly perform magic anymore. She was terribly anxious and needed to be looked after all the time. My mother had the responsibility of taking care of her while Aberforth and I were at school. One day Arianna had one of her magical outbursts and my mother," Dumbledore's breath hitched, " was caught in the caught in the crossfire."

Harry felt compassion well in up in him for the anguish clear in his mentor's eyes. The loss of his mother was obviously still as fresh today as it was the day it happened. "I was devastated of course by my mother's death but more so I was devastated by the loss of my life."

Harry's face contorted in puzzlement and Dumbledore grimaced when he saw it. "As the head of my family it was now my responsibility to take of my brother and sister and I was furious. I can see that you don't understand Harry. But I was selfish and all I could see was the loss of my independence, my freedom."

The younger wizard, though he would never admit it aloud, could not understand. Though he didn't know the full story he would hope that if he or one of his siblings was in trouble that one of the others would have no qualms about looking after them.

"That summer Gellert Grindewald arrived in Godric's Hollow. Yes, we lived there also," Dumbledore added at Harry's astonished look. "His aunt lived a few doors down from us and for the first time since my mother had died I felt like I was living again."

An expression of shame crossed the old wizard's face. "I began to neglect Arianna and Aberforth in favour of my new found friendship with Gellert. He had such charisma, such passion. . . it completely swept me away," the headmaster admitted.

For the first time in his life Harry felt pity for Albus Dumbledore. He could only imagine how eagerly a young Albus, eager to prove himself as the brilliant man he was, was carried away by Grindewald's words. He glanced at the sombre professor and startled at the look in his eyes, remembering his words, _such passion. . ._

"You were in love with him?" Harry gasped in sudden realisation.

Dumbledore's head jerked up and Harry would have laughed at the pink hue that crossed his cheeks if he hadn't been so shocked. The older man shrugged self-depreciatingly and nodded.

"I was," he murmured. "We had plans, Gellert and I. Together we dreamed of a new world order in which wizards ruled over Muggles, much like Tom's vision today. I was foolish Harry. Blinded by my love of Gellert and his returned feelings for me, I agreed when he suggested it would be best if we moved somewhere else to continue our plans for the _greater good_," he sneered at his own words.

"Aberforth was furious. We both knew that Arianna could not be moved in her condition but as bad a brother as I was, I could not bear to leave them behind. Gellert and Aberforth fought." His voice began to shake and Harry reached out to grasp one of his wrinkled hands, squeezing gently. "They began to duel and I got involved. I didn't want Gellert harmed and Aberforth was no match for Gellert. But Arianna. . ."

Dumbledore's shoulders began to shake with sobs and Harry's own eyes burned furiously. "Arianna must have been hit by one of our spells because she was there, lying on the floor. She was dead."

The black-haired wizard's heart ached for the young girl whose life had been so tormented and then to end in such a way, but he was more concerned by the haunted look in Dumbledore's eyes.

"Gellert was shocked, I could see that he was. He immediately thought the worst. That it had been his spell that had killed Arianna, for neither I nor Aberforth had been throwing particularly dark spells. Despite what he became later in life, he always had a fondness for Arianna. He whispered 'I'm sorry, Albus' to me and then he was gone.

"Aberforth blamed me of course. I blamed myself as well. My love for Gellert had blocked out the rest of the world, and because of that Arianna was dead." Dumbledore took a deep breath and Harry could feel the tight grip on his hands relaxing slightly. Was it possible that the headmaster had never spoken of this to anyone before?

"After several years, rumours of Gellert's deeds began to reach Britain. People were begging for someone to put him back in his place and they all turned to me as the most powerful wizard of the day. I avoided the task for as long as I could, hoping that Gellert would somehow see sense and I would not have to harm him, but. . ."

"He didn't," Harry whispered, knowing that his mentor had defeated Grindewald in battle.

They remained silent for a long time. The fire began to burn out, leaving the room cold and only the sound of the clock ringing for midnight brought Dumbledore out of his stupor. He ran a wizened hand over his face.

"I'm sorry my boy for bearing my troubles on you. I hope it will not be a burden."

Harry shook his head. "It's the least I could do Profes-Albus after all the ranting I've done in your presence." They both chuckled at that.

"I think its time that we were both off to bed Harry, my boy." Dumbledore patted his hand gently, then released it.

The younger wizard stood up, stretching out he kinks in his back as a result of being seated too long. He bent down to pick up his bag from the floor and tossed it over his shoulder. Pausing at the large oak door of the house he turned around.

"Albus?"

Dumbledore glanced up from his newly steaming cup of tea that had appeared in the last few seconds. "Yes Harry?"

"I know that you feel guilty and there is nothing I can say that will help with that but. . . you shouldn't feel guilty for still loving him, even now."

Dumbledore's eyes widened and his mouth gaped in shock, but Harry merely smiled at him and left the office, humming slightly as he did so. Though that had never spoken of that night again, it was always something they would share and Harry hoped something that had helped ease his mentor's conscience somewhat.

For the rest of them, Hermione, Ron, Neville and Luna, Dumbledore was a comforting and calming presence in the mist of chaos. Always there to lend a listening ear or ready with rare books and foods, exotic plants and bizarre necklaces. And much to many of the teacher's consternation and the youngsters' delight, a valuable source of information concerning pranks.

"Sit down, Albus," Sirius offered, gesturing towards one of the armchairs. "Tea?"

The former headmaster plopped down with a satisfied sigh that had Hermione giggling. He winked merrily at her before turning to the animagus. "Yes, please. Milk and three sugars."

Sirius conjured up a tea set and poured Dumbledore his drink while the wizard offered out lemon drops which Harry, Ron, Theo and Draco all accepted happily.

"Any news from the wizarding world, Albus?" Remus inquired, sipping out his own tea.

Dumbledore shook his head. "Same as usual. The press are buzzing around looking for anyone who can tell them about your whereabouts. No one is saying anything," he assured them when they appeared alarmed.

"Minerva even transfigured Rita Skeeter's ears into tea cosies yesterday. Quite a feat of magic if I do say so myself." He looked exceptionally pleased with his previous vice-headmistress.

"How is Minerva handling Hogwarts?" Remus asked.

"Very well. The right wing of the castle had been fully rebuilt and will be ready in time when it opens in a few weeks. She had mentioned however that the lack of Blacks and Potters in the school is going to make her rather paranoid," Dumbledore mentioned humorously to rounds of laughter and Harry and Sirius looked exceptionally happy while Remus and Hermione looked exasperated.

"How are you finding retirement Uncle Albus?" Theo wondered, from his sprawled out position beside Harry on one of the couches.

The war hero beamed. "I'm quite enjoying it actually. It is filled with endless days of lemon drops, reading and," he lowered his voice to a whisper, "sleeping-in."

Sirius, Ron and Blaise cracked up while the other's chuckled. Well, at least the old man was spending his free time usefully.

"Uncle Albus," Draco began tentatively. "How is my godfather?"

Their expressions all became sombre at the remembrance that Severus Snape was in a coma and had been since that day he had gotten injured during their sixth year. The healers had been unable to find a cure as they did not know what was causing the coma or what curse had been used. While most of the family and Snape had never been friends, they had been allies and acted civilly towards each other in the war. For the Slytherins though, Draco in particular, the loss was a hard blow.

Dumbledore shook his head. "I'm sorry Draco, but there is still no change in Severus' condition. Both the healers and I continue to search for a cure but none has yet to be discovered. Be assured that he is being well looked after and I visit him eveyr week."

Draco nodded, his throat tight and leaned into the embrace Hermione offered. He tried to hold back the tears, but a few stray ones slipped out and he scrubbed at them angrily.

The others gazed at the blond sympathetically, letting him mourn without commentating. They had all had to mourn for someone at one point or another during the war and they knew that they only thing they could offer was comfort.

The eccentric visitor glanced at the plasma television and exclaimed happily, pulling the others out of their silence.

"House," Dumbledore cried happily, waving his wand to create a footstool to rest his feet upon and leaning back with his cup of tea. "I love this programme!" The others exchanged amused glances, not even wanting to know about how the wizard knew about this programme.

"Very amusing and clever man, this Dr. House. I was thinking about getting a cane myself you know?"

* * *

"Are you going to tell me what the hell is going on or do I have to beat it out of you?"

Jake snorted without opening his eyes. "Oh yeah? How you gonna do that old man? Run me over?"

Billy Black glared at his only son. "In my day, kids had respect for their elders."

"What day? A century ago?" With his eyes closed he didn't see the narrowing of his father's eyes.

"Ow!" He shot up off the couch and hopped on his throbbing leg which had been on the receiving end of the old wooden cane that had been in their family for centuries. "Alright, I'm sorry ok? But I still can't tell you why we're having a pack meeting. Sam forbid it."

Billy grunted noncommittedly. "Think I should be allowed know why a bunch of people are going to come traipsing into my house."

Jake rolled his eyes. "Dad, half of the pack are here most of the time anyway. Just trust me when I say that this is important to the pack and as leader of our council its going to be just as important to you."

His father rolled away, mumbling about secrets and disrespect which Jake eagerly ignored to fall back down on the couch sighing when he did. He was exhausted. After running around La Push and informing all the pack about the meeting at his house tonight he also had patrol with Paul, whose thoughts were revolving around the things he got up to with Jake's sister which Jake _really _didn't want to know about.

Then again his own thoughts had been focused on Harry and the things he _could _get up to with him so he couldn't complain and honestly, he had nothing against Paul's imprinting on his sister. Apart from his hot temper, which had calmed down a lot since imprinting on Rachel, he had nothing against his pack member. Still didn't want to imagine his sister like that though.

"Jake?"

Said boy lazily opened one eye to see Seth peeking his head in the door and he waved him in. He internally rolled his eyes at the faint look of hero worship still present in the boy's eyes. The young boy seemed to constantly look up to Jacob which both pleased and disconcerted the beta equally.

"'Sup," Jake greeted languidly.

"Not much," Seth beamed his ever present grin. He seemed to be practically vibrating with the childlike energy he always had, even more than he usually did. His grin began to fade after a few moments and a look of worry took its place. "You don't think my dad and the other elders will forbid us from being with our imprints, do you?"

Jake blinked. The thought had never even crossed his mind. After all your imprint was a shapeshifter's other half. No one else would be as perfect for them as their imprint would. A growl rose in his chest, one Seth echoed, at the thought of someone even thinking about taking Harry away from him.

"Don't worry Seth." Jake sat up and clapped the boy on the shoulder like he would a younger brother, despite the fact that Seth was only a few inches shorter than he was. Seth was everyone's younger brother though. "No one can deny the validity of an imprint. Not even the elders."

"Validity?" Paul strolled into the house like he owned it. "That's a big word for you, dude."

With a snarl Jake lunged at the grinning shapeshifter ignoring his sister, who had followed Paul in and was now shouting for them to stop. With a shake of her head Rachel gave up and went into the kitchen, praying that they didn't break _another_ coffee table. She'd had to replace two already this month.

"Are you fighting already?" Embry asked amused, when he entered the Black house, Quil at his heels.

He took a seat on the couch beside Seth, content to remain the relaxed and quiet one of the pack while his other pack mates egged Jake and Paul on. He wouldn't mind making a bet with Jared though where ever he was. That boy owed him so much money. . .

"Where's your sister?" Embry asked Seth softly.

"I ran here," Seth explained looking sheepish. "Leah is coming with Mum and Dad. I was just so excited."

The older boy smiled understandingly, knowing exactly how Seth felt. "I am too," he whispered and they both grinned each other.

In the next ten minutes the rest of Seth's family arrived, followed shortly by Sam and Emily, Jared and Kim and Quil's grandfather. Paul, Sam and Jared had all brought their imprints along because as they were virtually part of the pack by being the shape shifter's mates, they all deserved to be there for the meeting. Plus their mates would have told them anyway. Only Quil's mate Claire, who was only three and too young to understand pack policies, had not come along.

With the only chairs available given to Harry Clearwater, Sue and Quil Ateara, most of the pack was sitting on the floor, those who had mates cuddling them close to them. Sam was standing, with Emily beside him, to present their case to the elders.

"Right, so what was all this about?" The boys snorted. Billy wasn't one for pleasantries.

Sam shot the older man an amused look and took a deep breath. "Well, we've got a. . . situation on our hands."

When he didn't say anything else, Quil Ateara frowned. "Spit it out my boy."

The rest of his pack felt for him when Sam shot them an anxious look. He was obviously unsure about how he should go about this and they were grateful that they weren't in his place.

"You know that a new family moved in to the Old Willows?" Sam finally asked.

The pack elders exchanged puzzled looks, clearly unaware about what this had to do with the pack.

"Sure," Harry answered. "They had to get permission to move here from the tribe because they weren't Quileute. They seemed like polite, friendly men though so we didn't have any problems would letting them move in."

"You know that the two men are in a relationship right?" Paul voiced the question everyone else had been wondering.

Sue scowled at him. "They made no secret of their relationship and we had no reason to hold it against them. I would think that being _werewolves _would leave you all a bit more open-minded when it came to same-sex relationships." The other pack elders nodded. It was clear that they wouldn't be impressed if they had been dragged here to hear complaints about a homosexual relationship.

The Alpha was quick to refute Sue's assumption. "No! No, that's not it. Its," he glanced at Jake, Seth and Embry's anxious expression and felt his resolve firm. He was supposed to guide, lead and _protect _his pack and he wasn't going to fail them now.

"Three of the pack have imprinted on members of the new family in the past few days."

The phrase 'silence is deafening' was remarkably accurate although the elder's expressions more than made up for it. Sue was gaping at Sam incredulously. While a wide-eyed Billy, Harry and Quil Sr. were staring at the boys on the ground.

Emily, Rachel and Kim all gasped and began to beam happily. The two on the ground began to chatter to each other, causing their mates to eye them warily.

Sam continued on, Emily's presence at his side reassuring. "Their imprints are all boys." Finally, he collapsed onto the ground pulling Emily onto his lap and looking relieved that his part was over.

Jared and Paul were looking eagerly between the newly imprinted shape shifters and the elders, clearly waiting for an explosion.

Billy regained his speech first and cleared his throat. "Alright. We can't admit that this hasn't been a shock," he grinned wryly when the others nodded vigorously, " but none of you boys need worry. Imprints are sacred and rare," the three boys relaxed somewhat, "but first of all, who has imprinted?"

Looking reluctant Jake and Embry put their hands up, followed by a much more enthusiastic Seth. Sue and Harry grinned at their son's obvious happiness while Leah growled angrily. The three boys found themselves on the end of excited hugs from the three girls while the girl's mates looked on with possessive eyes.

Billy eyed his son warily. He knew there was something up with that boy today. He nodded for one of them to start speaking and with a nudge from Sam, Embry began.

"One of their. . parents came with two of the boys to the shop when we outside three day ago. I imprinted on the smaller one, Theo." Embry smiled softly at the thought of his mate.

"Seth and I only imprinted this morning at First Beach," Jake said, his chin stuck out proudly.

"My imprint's name is Draco," Seth burst in cheerfully. "He's really beautiful and has blond hair and blue-"

"Thank you Seth," his mother interrupted kindly. "You can tell me all about him later."

Seth pouted, but nodded.

"My imprint's Harry," Jake said in response to the questioning glance he received. "And its nobody business what colour his hair or eyes are."

"His hair is black and his eyes-" Jared was cut off my a punch to his stomach that had him gasping.

"Shut up," Jake growled.

Paul held out his hand in Jared's direction with a smirk and wriggled his fingers. "I told you Jake would be the first to throw a punch. Pay up."

Grumbling, Jared handed him a ten dollar bill and relaxed under Kim's coddling as she rubbed his 'injured' stomach.

Sam addressed the council again. "I thought it was best if I brought it to you. I have never heard of any pack having so many imprints in such a short space of time."

The adults frowned thoughtfully and it was Harry who answered. "Its unusual of course, particularly within the same family but they're adopted I presume?" The pack nodded confirmation. "I've never heard of three within a week, but I know of a pack where four men all imprinted in less than a month."

"Should we tell them?" Embry inquired. "About being werewolves?"

After a quiet discussion amongst themselves, the council turned to face them. "That's a decision that we will leave up to you," Sue told them. "In the end, it mainly affects you so only you should be allowed decided. You have our permission to tell them if you wish it."

"What about their family?" Kim asked, shrugging when everyone looked at her. "My parents aren't that suspicious yet, but I'm an only child. You've imprinted on three from the same family and their parents and siblings are bound to get suspicious eventually."

The girl had raised a valid concern, one that would need plenty of thought. "For now there is no reason to tell them," Billy stated. "If you think that they are getting suspicious then approach one of us and we will decide for ourselves whether it is worth taking the risk or not."

Everyone looked satisfied with that answer.

"There is another matter that's been on your minds boys," Quil Sr. said softly, eying the three fidgeting boys with a sharp intelligence.

"They're boys," Jake blurted out, thankful for his russet skin when he felt his cheeks burning. "I would never give Harry up for anything nor trade him for anyone but. . ."

"You want to know if that's unusual?" Quil Sr. was remarkably astute.

Jake nodded and blinked at the simple answer. "Its not."

The rest of the pack looked just as confused and Jared said uncertainly, "But I thought imprinting was too unsure that you got the mate most perfect for you and who would bear you the strongest children."

"It is."

A round of confused looks were exchanged and Quil Sr. chuckled, taking pity on them. "I'm not saying that imprinting on the same sex is _common_ per say but it has happened before that a werewolf's perfect mate had been a man rather than a woman."

"Besides you could always have kids with a woman as well," Paul suggested and flinched when, as one, Jake, Embry and Seth launched themselves at him while the others trying to hold them back.

"Fuck," Paul yelled, backing away with Rachel behind him. "What the hell has gotten in to them?" He startled at the furious looks he was been thrown by the elder's.

"Think boy," Harry snarled, "How would you feel if someone told you to take a lover besides Rachel?"

Paul growled at the rage that filled him and heard Rachel give a soft sob from behind him. It was clear that the idea effected her just as much as it did him. He turned away from his furious pack mates to pull her into his arms.

Embry, Seth and Jake were all still shaking with anger while Sam tried desperately to calm them down. Though it was beginning to work on Jake, the other two were far from calm and the alpha was quick to shove them out the door. A few seconds later the sound of shredding clothes was hear as they transformed into their wolf forms.

Jake, still shaking, stumbled down on the ground beside Quil and Jared. Together they glanced around the house where the elders sat discussing something, and Paul continued to comfort Rachel in the corner. Leah it seemed had finally some out of her shock induced daze and appeared furious that she was the only one of the pack that had yet to imprint. While understandable, her rage was also rather frightening and her mother struggled to calm her down.

They could also hear Seth and Embry's snarls from outside as well as Sam's ones as he tried to placate the two riled up shape shifters.

"Our pack has serious issues," Quil whispered to Jake who grinned at his friend.

Truer words had never been spoken.

* * *

So. . . what do you think? Yes, no pack/wizard interaction in this chapter but I hope you liked it anyway! Thanks everyone for reading and reviewing. You're all awesome. Keep it up! :)

Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates the holiday!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary: **For the Black-Lupin family, Forks is a second chance at life and at love for a group of war-damaged teenagers and their parents. Post-War. Harry/Jacob

**Pairings:** Jacob/Harry, Remus/Sirius, Seth/Draco, Embry/Theo, Hermione/Blaise, Ron/Neville.

**Category:** Harry Potter/Twilight

**Genre:** Romance/Family

**Rating:** M/NC-17

**Warnings:** Mature themes, slash, gay (male/male) relationships, some angst, drama, gay sex, crossover, canon for books one to four and AU after that.

* * *

Remus frowned. The newspaper that had been in his hands only a second ago was now half way across the kitchen table. Instead he had a squirming Sirius in his lap. Nothing to complain about really.

"Hi," the animagus chirped happily, wrapping his arms around his mate's neck and bestowing an eager kiss on him.

The werewolf looked dazed when his mate finally pulled back and blinked rapidly, his eyes narrowing. "Alright, what do you want?"

Sirius looked offended. "Can't I kiss my husband 'hello' in the morning?" Without waiting for an answer he continued on. "Besides I just came to ask for the keys of the car."

"Why?" Remus remained suspicious.

The black-haired man sniffed. "Your lack of confidence in me is appalling," he replied tartly. "Some of the kids want to get out of the house and I want to take the car we rented back to the dealership. Get something more permanent as well."

This was actually a good idea. They needed a car if they wanted to fit in with the muggles in La Push.

"The kids will need someway of getting around too," Sirius said.

_That _was a rather startlingly thought. "Only Harry, Hermione and Draco can drive, Sirius," the werewolf reminded his mate. "And I don't trust Ron anywhere near a car."

"The others can learn," Sirius replied dismissively. "I'll probably take them shopping as well and I think Ron is planning on taking Neville somewhere when we get to Seattle."

Both men grinned at the thought of shy Neville being dragged around a muggle city of Ron.

"Anything you want from Seattle?" Sirius asked, sliding off his lover's lap.

Remus furrowed his brow thoughtfully. "See if you can find any books on the Quileute's. I think it best that we know everything we can about their culture if we're going to be living here."

"I have to go into a bookstore?" Sirius whined, then brightened. "Oh, maybe they'll have that Darren Shan book I'm looking for."

The werewolf suppressed a roll of the eyes, but only barely. It was a close call. "You do that," he responded dryly. "Who are you taking with you?"

"Harry, Draco, Neville and Ron." Sirius had summoned his leather jacket from upstairs and was pulling it on. "Blaise and Hermione wanted to spend some time together, I told them to keep it PG-rated though." Remus snorted.

Sirius paused before going onto the kitchen door. "Keep on eye on Theo," he told Remus, his face concerned, "He had a bad night last night. Nightmares again."

"I will," the werewolf promised.

With a beaming grin and a bounce in his step, the animagus took off out the archway into the living room, calling that he was going to Seattle now for anyone who wanted to come.

Remus reached into his pocket and pulled out the keys of the car, holding them up with one hand while he began to peruse his newspaper again. A second later Sirius ran into the room and grabbed the keys with a kiss and a husky," Bye."

"Sirius, do try not to go overboard?" Remus called after him. He received a bark of laughter in return.

With a shake of the head and a smile on his lips, the sandy-haired man continued to read about the latest breaking news in the muggle world.

* * *

When Sirius pulled into the car dealership almost an hour later, everybody quickly scrambled out. It was safe to say that the animagus wasn't the most. . . careful of drivers.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Ron moaned, leaning against the side of the car.

Draco chuckled humourlessly. "I can't feel my legs. Where did he learn to drive like that?"

"Lily," Sirius replied cheerfully as he climbed out of the car. "Harry's mum taught me to drive. Mainly because James was too afraid to get into the car with her. Don't know why." He shrugged and the rest of them grinned at each other.

"Sirius," Ron called. " Neville and I don't care what kind of car you buy. Harry and I just insist its not a Ford Anglia," both boys blushed at the roars of laughter this got, "so can Neville and I go?"

Sirius frowned, then slowly nodded. "Alright, but-"

"Make sure your wand is on you at all times. Have your emergency portkey within close reach. Keep an eye out for anything suspicious. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" They all recited the mantra that had been drummed into them and Sirius chuckled, shaking his head.

"Off you go then." He shooed the two boys who clasped hands tightly and made their way down the street together, keeping a close eye on them until they were out of sight.

"Alright my boys," Sirius exclaimed loudly, throwing an arm over each boys' shoulder. "Lets go find some cars."

They handed the keys pack to an employee and informed him that they were now looking to buy a car and possibly more than one.

Draco tugged an amused, but compliant Harry along behind him while he looked for the 'perfect' car. He had certainly not lost his Malfoy sense of vanity when it came to purchasing things and he would settle for nothing but the best. The former saviour of the world had been surprised when Draco had taken naturally to driving a car, unlike the other two Slytherins who had happily admitted defeat at the end of their first driving lesson.

"It's the best thing muggles have created," Draco told him once, before adding, "after television. Its like the non-magic form of flying."

Harry glanced up at Draco's gasp and turned in the direction the blond was looking. He definitely had taste. Expensive taste as well. Following his brother over, Harry admired the beautiful car. It was a silver Porsche with a soft leather interior. The Gryffindor snorted. Trust Draco to pick out a _silver _car.

"Hello, my darling," Draco cooed at the Porsche. "Your coming home with me. Oh yes, you are."

"Can I help you, gentleman?"

Draco jumped up from his bent position over the car and looked guiltily at the salesman, who looked like he was trying hard to keep a straight face and not burst out laughing.

Quickly gaining composure, Draco's stoic face slipped on and he gestured towards his chosen car. "What can you tell me about her?"

"A Porsche Carrera GT, designed in Germany. She has V1O engine and-"

Harry quietly wandered away from the salesman and his brother, happy to simply admire the other cars. He glimpsed Sirius nearby, standing beside a huge, black jeep and shaking hands with another salesman. He eyed the jeep. It was a gorgeous machine. Big, black and intimidating. Just like Padfoot.

When Hermione had taught him to drive at the end of their sixth year at Hogwarts, it had just been another part of his training to defeat Voldemort. After all, the Death Eaters weren't going to expect to find Harry Potter driving around in a car. It had been a efficient method of transportation during the war. Low-key and easy.

After some time, however, it began to become a release of sorts. The feeling of freedom you get when you press down on the clutch and you can feel all that power underneath you, rearing to go. It was exhilarating and Harry grinned in remembrance of the car races he and Draco used to have on the rare days they had to themselves during the war.

Dodging a couple who were talking about the merits of a seven-seater while their two children ran around the cars shrieking in delight, Harry stopped suddenly when he caught sight of something and his mouth dropped open. It was a motorbike. A silver and black one and it was beautiful. A hand reached out and stroked the seat in awe. He had never driven a motorbike, but he could only imagine that it must be even better than driving a car.

"Do you want it?" Harry startled and turned to see Sirius standing right behind him. He was clearly letting down his defences now that the war was over if someone could sneak up on him that easily. It was clear though that Sirius, despite the huge grin on his face, was deadly serious about the offer.

Harry shook his head. "Its ok." He could never understand how eager Sirius and Remus were to buy him things. The Dursleys had been the opposite. He didn't deserve this. . .

"The first time I saw a motorbike," Sirius began, his eyes faraway, "I knew that I had to have one. I would do anything for one. And when my uncle left me an inheritance when he died, it was the first thing I bought. After a flat," he added dryly. "My parents had already kicked me out by then."

A hand grabbed Harry's shoulder. "My motorbike was always meant to be yours, but since it was destroyed during the war. . ." Sirius shrugged. "This is the least I can do."

Harry began to protest once again, despite the longing he felt for the bike but his godfather had already called over a salesman and was making the purchase. He couldn't deny the excitement or happiness he felt at the idea of being able to drive one of those. The salesman informed Sirius, with Harry eavesdropping from a distance, that the motorbike, the Honda EVO6, was a brand new edition and had only just become available to buy. They had only the one on display currently in the shop but would order Harry's without delay.

"Come on." Sirius waved him over, Draco standing beside him. "Draco wants to drive his car home and the motorbike you've chosen is the only one they have available at the moment so they're going to deliver it when it arrives."

Harry nodded and smiled at the blond who was practically vibrating with excitement. Or at least as much as Draco would ever let himself show excitement anyway.

"For the moment though, how about we get something to eat and give Ron and Neville a ring on one of those cell-thingies. Shopping can wait until later."

* * *

Theo sighed throwing down the book titled '_Healing: Useful Spells and Charms'_. He couldn't seem to concentrate on anything today. He regretted now that he hadn't gone to Seattle with Sirius and his brothers. Only the reminder of all those crowds had stopped him from going.

His home had always been so crowded when. . . No! He wasn't going to remember this again. This was his home now. Nott Manor had never been his home. It had been his cage, his pain, his screams, but never his home. The nightmares last night had shaken him up though and he felt frustrated with how agitated and nervous he was today.

Covering his head to muffle his groan, Theo fought to clear his head and think _reasonably _happy thoughts. He thought it had worked for a few minutes and he was even beginning to feel pleasantly sleepy when a looming face, with stringy silver hair and sharp, yellow teeth appeared in his mind. He shot up from the bed with a cry and buried his head in his knees with his hands clutching tightly to his curly hair.

Was he ever going to be rid of the thoughts of _him_ and his father? Would they plague him until the day he died? Stripping away any chance of happiness in life that he might have until he died lonely and unloved. Tears trickled down his cheeks and his shoulders shook with the force of his angry sobs, furious that they could still control his life with one dead and the other in prison.

He had come off the Dreamless Sleep potion just before they had left England. The potion could become very addictive if you stayed on it too long and Theo had hoped that enough time had passed for the pain to be duller, the memories not as fresh. This was clearly not the case.

Standing from the bed in the room he shared with Blaise, Theo made up his mind. Remus and Sirius were always encouraging him to talk about his nightmares and his emotions. It was easier to say than do though and the brunet, despite how much he loved the older man, still found it difficult to talk about the werewolves with a werewolf.

With Sirius, Neville and Harry gone to Seattle, Theo decided to talk to his oldest friend. The one who had soothed him during his nightmares for years and had rescued him from the manor just before _he_ had mated him for life. Blaise had always been there for him.

Glancing down the hall, Theo saw that Hermione's door was closed and he could hear laughter coming from there. Though he was reluctant to interrupt the couple, he knew that if he didn't talk to someone about his worries that he would just get more anxious as the day progressed.

Biting his lip nervously, Theo knocked on the door and heard giggling and cursing from inside. A tousled Blaise opened the door and the brunet had to fight not to flinch at the sight of his bare chest by reminding himself that it was Blaise.

The dark-skinned boy looked at him and narrowed his eyes. "What do you want?" While the tone wasn't harsh, the words were and Theo winced slightly.

"Um, I was wondering if we could," he glanced at Blaise's impatient expression and finished in a whisper, "talk."

"Look Theo, I'm kind of busy right now. Find someone else to talk to or I'll talk to you later okay?" Without waiting for an answer he closed the door in his brother's face.

Theo gazed confused and hurt at the closed door. An ache in his chest made itself known and tears began to pool in his eyes. Rubbing his hands on his arms, he stumbled back down to his room, the pain of rejection fresh in his mind. Blaise had never before refused to talk to him. The older boy had always gone out of his way to make time for Theo. The brunet took a gasping sob at the annoyance he had seen on Blaise's face. That was all he was. A burden. His father's words flashed through his mind, _'About time you became useful for something.' _His body shook in anguish and he dropped to the ground to pick up his shoes.

Struggling to see through his tears, Theo laced up his shoes and pulled on a coat, then walked slowly out of his room and down the stairs.

Remus glanced up from his newspaper when he heard a noise at the kitchen entrance and jumped up immediately at the sight of one of his cubs. Theo looked. . . brittle. His face was pale and tear-streaked. He carried himself carefully and slowly as though he was going to break at any moment. It had been a long time since the werewolf had seem him in this condition and it shocked him.

"Theo," he cried, walking towards him quickly, "What's wrong?"

The boy merely shook his head, more tears spilling down his cheeks "I-I just wanted t-to ask you if I c-could go for a walk," he stammered, staring at the ground and avoiding eye contact.

"Has something happened?" Remus persisted, knowing that something had to have a happened for Theo to be this upset.

Another shake of the head. "I just r-really need some fresh air."

A moment of silence where the werewolf stared in concern at his cub and Theo swayed in place, waiting patiently for his answer.

"Of course," Remus replied eventually, worry for his adopted son shining in his eyes. "Just. . . be careful ok?"

With a jerk of the head that was probably supposed to be a nod, Theo shakily made his way towards the kitchen archway. He paused when Remus called after him.

"I just want you to know that I'm here. . . if you need to talk." The werewolf's expression was solemn but sincere and Theo could see how concerned he was making him.

Without thinking, acting on impulse, the brunet practically flew across the room and threw himself into Remus's open arms, the man's sharp instincts causing him to react in time. Burying himself into comfort and warmth offered, Theo let out sobs that he had been trying to hold back, letting the tears run down his face.

Stroking the curly, brown hair, Remus made soft, nonsensical noises trying to sooth his hurting cub in anyway he could. After a few minutes the soft sobs faded into gently whimpers although Theo's shoulders continued to shake. He cuddled further into the embrace, remembering vaguely when his mother once used to hold him like this. . .

Remus continued to making soothing noises, refraining from sniffing along his child neck to ensure he was unharmed. He doubted the traumatised boy would appreciate it.

"Hey," he whispered, lifting the delicate chin and feeling a stab of pain at the pure anguish he saw in those shimmering eyes. "You going to tell me what has you so upset?"

Shivering slightly, Theo shook his head and tucked it back under the man's chin, happy to stay there. "Its stupid," he mumbled.

"Theo," Remus let his voice hold a slight reprimanding, though still gentle tone, "Nothing that has you this upset can be stupid."

The boy simply shook his head again and Remus reluctantly admitted that he wasn't going to get anything out of him. Theo could be fiercely stubborn when he wanted to be and even more stubborn when he didn't realise it.

Another few minutes passed before Theo let out a deep sigh and pulled back slowly from his father's embrace. Remus wiped the lingering tear tracks off his cheeks and smoothed back a stray dark curl. "Still want to go for that walk?" He kept his voice gentle and quiet.

A shy nod answered his question and after a kiss to the werewolf's cheek, Theo stood up. "I need to be alone for a little while," he whispered hoarsely.

His still gaunt face and shakiness concerned Remus though and he was wary about letting him go anywhere alone but his suggestion of asking Blaise or Hermione to go with him was vehemently shot down. He saw the brown-haired boy to the front door and, after reminding him to keep his wand and emergency portkey safe, he waved him off until he was out of sight of the house.

Frowning, Remus turned back into the house with a determined look in his face. He had some questions he wanted answering and he wasn't going anywhere until he had them. Nobody hurt one of his cubs and got away with it.

* * *

Sullenly, Theo kicked at a stone on the road in front of him, watching as it skipped over the pavement and stopped with a splash in a big puddle. Drowning. . . That was a good description for how he felt right now. He was suffocating under the weight of his emotions. Fear, anger, pain, rejection. . . they all welled up inside him until the turmoil he felt caused his heart and head to ache.

When does it have to be so hard? He despaired at the thought and shook his head. He'd always hated self-pity, he wasn't about to going wallowing in it. If he could just forget, life would be so much better without those memories. Perfect even. Harry's voice floated into his head, reciting words the boy said often, _'Perfection is way over-rated.'_

A gust of wind blew through the trees on either side of the road he was walking on, rustling his hair. Theo turned his face up to it, smiling when the wind tousled his brown locks. He'd always adored the wind. How it was free to go wherever it wanted. Nothing held it back. Nothing controlled it.

His thoughts flittered to Blaise and he closed his eyes against the pain he felt at the thought of the other boy. Never once had he felt unwanted in Blaise's presence. But his rejection, his dismissal today had stung bitterly and Theo angrily wiped away the new tears gathering in his eyes. For the first time in a long, long time and the first time ever with his real family, he had felt like a burden.

The trees surrounding him began to thin gradually as he made his way down the road, closer to First beach, the beach he and his siblings had visited once before. Never having been a fan of the sun, Theo admired the image the beach and the turbulent sea made when he stepped onto the sand. The cliffs and the forest loomed over the beach on either side but rather making him feel closed in, Theo felt protected. Safe.

A quick glance around showed him that while there was a few people roaming around at the far end of the beach from where he was, they were a good distance off and remained only a distant threat as long as they remained where they were. With a faint smile, Theo removed his shoes, then his socks and tucked them into his trainers. Placing them on the sand he walked slowly down to the water where the swash brushed gently against the shore.

Withholding a shriek at the freezing temperature of the water, the slender boy slowly walked through it, watching mesmerised as the wave broke when it touched his feet. The constant, almost rhythmic motion had him closing his eyes and relaxing. The fear and anger in his heart dulling slightly.

A yell and a shout of laughter from above him had his eyes flashing open quickly and his hand reaching into his pocket for his wand. He reprimanded himself for daring to relax in a virtually, unknown area and scanned the beach for the source of laughter before he remembered it had come from over his head.

About fifty feet above him, standing on one of the towering cliffs, were a group of kids from La Push. Though they were far away, he could see that they were pushing and shoving each other towards the edge of the cliff and though frightened at first, it because obvious to him after a minute that they were playing around and meant no harm. His fingers, which were tightened around his wand, loosened and retreated from his pocket.

Curious now, he watched as the first boy made a run for the edge of the cliff, whooping as he did so and crashing into the sea with a loud splash. Staring at the water, Theo breathed a sigh of relief when the boy's head emerged in the sea and he began to swim back towards the beach. Another boy was already jumping and shouting just as enthusiastically as the first had.

Up on the cliff, Embry shuddered at the pleasant shiver that went down his spine.

"Not scared, are you Em?" Jake taunted, rubbing his hands together while he waited for Paul to swim far enough away from the bottom so that he could jump.

Embry rolled his shoulders and scoffed. "Of you? Please."

"I dunno Em," Jared grinned. "Pretty sure I saw you shaking there a minute ago."

Embry glared at him. "It was nothing," he defended. "I just got this weird. . . feeling was all."

Feeling it again, he turned his nose in the direction the wind was blowing, towards the beach. Despite the fact that his senses weren't as good in his human form as they were in his wolf one, they were still better than an average human being. Blinking at the beach, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

"What the hell is wrong with you now?" Leah asked, bumping into him and staring out at the beach and spotted the slender figure on the beach. "Who is that?"

Embry smiled and breathed deeply the scent in the air. "Its Theo."

"Theo?" His words had caught the pack's, who had yet to jump off the cliff, attention and they clambered over to see Embry's imprint with him, while Sam stood behind them shaking his head in bemusement.

"Is Harry with him?" Jake elbowed Jared out of his way and glanced up and down the length of the beach, growling when he noted the absence of his imprint.

"How do I look?" Embry asked anxiously, rubbing his hands over his short hair.

"Same as usual," Leah replied, smirking, "like an idiot."

Uncaring that it was childish, he stuck his tongue at her and with a grin took a flying leap off the cliff and into churning water below, his heart beating rapidly at the thought of seeing his imprint for the first time since he had imprinted. Of finally meeting him properly.

On the beach, Theo had kept a wary eye on the boys climbing out of the water. One he recognised as the boy who had been so kind to Draco when he had been hurt on the beach and that made him relax slightly, but the other two were unfamiliar and therefore to be watched carefully.

Cliff-diving, while it looked exhilarating, also looked terrifying and Theo didn't know how the La Push boys clambered out of the water looking so happy after hitting the freezing water so hard. He wondered whether the boy, the one who had looked at him so. . . intently that day in La Push, was up there as well.

A flush of pleasure and happiness ran through him at the thought and he quickly shook it off. He didn't even know this boy. _But you'd like to. . . _The words lingered in his mind and as much as he wished to deny it, he couldn't. He _did _want to know the boy better. Sure, he had only seen him for a moment that day, but never before had he felt such a rush of emotion at just seeing someone.

"Excuse me. . ."

Theo yelped and fell back in the sand, glancing up while his hand quickly wrapped around the wand in his coat pocket. Fear raced through him when he saw the towering form standing over him, the bulging muscles defining that person as male.

Grateful that he had fallen onto the sand and not into the water, Theo began to edge backwards. His eyes widened when a hand reached down to help him up.

"Are you alright?" The concern in the voice had the brunet glancing up again and he gasped in recognition when he saw the face of the person.

Embry felt guilty when he saw the scared eyes staring up at him. He hadn't meant to frighten his imprint, he'd only wanted to introduce himself. His outstretched hand was ignored however and he blinked at the murmured, "Its you."

"Um. . . do you know me?" Wondering if they had had another meeting since the day he had imprinted, and he had forgotten about it.

The blush that graced those pale cheeks enchanted him and the boy shook his head slowly. "No," Theo whispered, slowly sitting up but still ignoring the offered hand, "but I remember you from that day I saw you in La Push. Outside the store."

Embry felt that he was unreasonably happy that this boy, Theo, had remembered him from such a fleeting glance. Had he made an impression? He hoped so.

"Let me help you up," he offered, taking a step close, only to be shocked when the boy skittered away like a frightened animal, eyeing him fearfully.

"Alright," Embry replied slowly. "I'm going to sit down. Is that ok?"

Theo eyed him warily for a moment, then nodded his head slowly. He pulled his legs close to his body when the dark-skinned boy lowered himself to the ground, keeping a firm grip on his wand despite the fact that he felt he would not need it.

"I'm Embry Call." A beautiful smile was sent in his direction and had his heart stuttering in his chest. No hand was offered in greeting, as the shape shifter had quickly figured out that his imprint was rather averse to touch.

"Embry," Theo murmured softly. "Its beautiful." He let a small smile grace his features at the darkening of those russet cheeks. "I'm Theo. Theo Black-Lupin"

"Very pretty," Embry complimented, glad to know for certain his imprints name.

"Thank you." The smile that accompanied those words had Embry's fingers twitch, wanting to touch that fair skin so badly. God, he was never going to tease his packmates about their reaction to their mates again. This feeling of need, of belonging, was completely overwhelming.

"You and you're friends are quite talented in jumping off those cliffs," Theo blurted out, them mentally slapped himself. Embry was going to think he was such a fool. . .

Embry smiled softly when he saw the pale hand's beginning to wring in Theo's lap. It was obvious that he was making Theo nervous.

"We tend to be kind of reckless," the shape shifter laughed, glancing over in time to see Jake leap off the cliff in a perfect dive.

Theo watched him hit the water in awe. "It looks amazing." His voice was wistful.

Embry glanced at him and shyly said, "I could take you sometime"

Theo shot him a nervous look and he amended quickly," Only if you wanted to."

"Maybe from lower down," he murmured and Embry laughed.

"Maybe from lower down," he agreed, a smile spread across his face. The shape shifter realised with a jolt that he had never felt this happy in his entire life, and the idea astonished him.

Theo's hands had started to twist anxiously in his lap again, this time hard enough for the fingers to break. Embry frowned. There was more to Theo's behaviour than met the eye. He wasn't just nervous because of the Native American's presence. Embry hadn't done anything to cause him such stress so that meant that he was upset about something else.

Brown eyes narrowed on the careful way Theo held himself, the way his eyes darted around him ever so often always coming back to rest on Embry. When he had approached his imprint at first, he had surprised him but not enough to cause the fear or panic he had seen in his eyes.

Theo had been wary of Embry, of his height, of what the other boy could possibly to do him. He had flinched when a hand had been offered to help him up. Fury radiated through the shapeshifer. Someone had hurt _his _imprint. His imprint was afraid, not of him, but that someone would hurt him again.

Anger and pain fought for dominance inside of Embry as his wolf struggled to be free. It wanted to exact vengeance on the person who had harmed his beautiful mate, who had caused him to be so fearful. They needed to be punished and it was his duty to protect his mate.

A soft, scared voice had him snap out of his thoughts rapidly and he saw Theo's concerned and scared eyes running over his face. A choked off sob escaped him at the thought that his imprint had been hurt. And there was _nothing _he could do about it because it had already happened.

"Embry," Theo called to him again. The other boy had started shaking about a minute ago and, though frightened, the young wizard could see that the boy who had been friendly to him was upset.

How he longed to reach out and touch that russet skin, to comfort him? Fear and worry fought until he heard that soft sob and without thinking he reached out to take one of Embry's hands between his own. The effect was instantaneous.

The shaking ceased abruptly and pain-filled brown eyes blinked at his bright blue ones. Theo gasped at the emotions in those eyes, at the sudden knowledge that it was for him that Embry cried.

"Somebody hurt you," the shape shifter whispered, clasping the small, paler hands between his dark ones.

Rather than feeling frightened that he was now unable to escape, Theo relaxed on his knees between Embry's legs.

He gave a small, shaky nod, seeing no point in denying the truth. "Yes."

"Badly."

A soft whimper. "Yes."

"They can't hurt you anymore," Embry half-asked, half-stated.

Another shake of the head. "N-no."

"Good."

They stayed like that for several minutes. Embry sitting in the damp sand and clasping a kneeling Theo's hands within his. For more words were needed and Embry didn't need the details. His imprint would tell him when he wanted to, if he ever wanted to.

"Will you go out with me?" Embry winced at the words he blurted out and felt Theo's hands tremble within his.

"W-what?"

"I want to take you out." Might as well take the plunge. "Take you to a movie, or to dinner."

"Why?" Theo whispered. At the shape shifter's puzzled look he elaborated. "Why do you want to take me out?"

Embry grinned at him and reached removed one of his hands to smooth a finger over. "Because you're beautiful," he replied simply. "Because you seem smart and because of this." He stroked his finger over Theo's cheekbone and chuckled when the wizard frowned, his blue eyes bemused.

"Huh?"

"Because you let me touch you."

Theo's eyes widened at his words. He was letting someone, a man he had just met, touch him and he didn't feel an ounce of fear. Not even now that it had been pointed out to him.

"Because I can only guess how often you let anyone outside your family come anywhere close to you."

The wizard lowered his eyes in shame. It was true. He had longed since closed off against anyone other than his family. Not wanting to be hurt or betrayed again. He had reasoned within himself that if he never let anyone close, he would never get hurt.

In a choked voice he explained this to Embry who nodded in understanding. "But if you never let anyone in, imagine all those people your letting go? Your letting whoever hurt you control your life even after they're gone and I bet its exactly what they wanted."

Shuddering to try to hold back tears, Theo shook his head. Not denying Embry's words, but simply too shocked by how right he was to respond. His father and Grey-_he_ would be delighted to know that they had had such a lasting effect on him. That their abuse would having isolating himself and destroying any chance he had at living.

Well, that wasn't going to happen. The wizard attempted to stop his tears, blinking when a large hand came up to wipe them away for him. He leaned into the hand, marvelling out the warmth of it despite the fact that Embry had been swimming in below freezing waters less than a half an hour ago.

"Thank you," Theo murmured simply. He then did something that shocked both of them and placed a chaste kiss on Embry's hand.

Blushing, he returned his gaze to the sand and desperately hoped that it would swallow him up, not seeing Embry's dazed and happy eyes.

"So what do you say to that date?"

"Date?" Theo's eyes widened and he blushed brighter. "Um-alright."

"Great!" Embry exclaimed happily. "How about tomorrow night? I'll pick you up outside your house."

Still shocked, Theo nodded. "That should be fine." He hesitated. "I'll have to ask my dads first though, but it should be ok."

Choking back a gulp at the reminder that his imprint had not one, but two fathers was enough to send most men running. Embry wasn't going anywhere though and he never would be. He'd put up with walking over hot coals if it meant he could see Theo.

"Would you like to meet some of my friends?" Embry asked. He could see that Theo was getting cold on the ground. After all he had no super nova body temperature to keep his warm.

All of the pack had jumped from the cliff by now and were gathered at one end of the beach, talking and laughing. Theo warily eyed their large forms before squaring his shoulders. He wasn't going to let his past get in the way of his future and the boys he had met on the beach a few days before had seemed very friendly.

His nod of agreement was met with a bright smile and Embry stood quickly, noticing the flinch Theo gave when he did and how fast he straightened up from his kneeling position on the sand. After dusting the sand of his jeans, the wizard went to stand by Embry, who held out a hand. Hesitating for just a moment, the brunet slipped his hand into the much larger one and relaxed at the warmth.

The pack stood up when they approached them and Theo moved closer to Embry, seeking safety in his bulk. He missed the adoring glance the shape shifter sent him when he did so.

Sam was at the head of the pack, looking far more serious than the jostling boys behind him. He gave Theo a quick one over and seeing his nervous expression, sent him a reassuring smile.

"Hey everyone, this is Theo," Embry introduced, and Theo blushed at the waves and grins he received but smiled and waved back.

"Theo this is-"

"He already knows me," Seth shouted, bounding up beside Sam and ignoring the annoyed look his alpha sent him.

Theo smiled softly at the happy boy who still seemed to retain a childlike quality despite his height of 6"2. "Seth, you helped Draco when he was hurt," Theo replied. "Thank you again."

"No problem." Seth waved his thanks away.

"Do you remember me?" Theo glanced up at the tall boy and couldn't hold back a shiver of fear. It had Embry holding him closer to his side.

All the same he nodded again. "Jacob," he recalled. "Harry calls you Jake though." He grinned slyly as he said this and Jake beamed.

"Harry? Has he said anything about me?" The boy asked eagerly and Embry shoved him back, worried that he was getting too close, but Theo was simply amused.

"He might have." His replied was cryptic and served to both annoy and delight Jake, who boomed out a laugh.

He was introduced to the rest of Embry's friends one by one. Sam, who appeared to be the group's leader, was serious and stern but seemed kind. Quil, who Embry told him was one of his best friends as well as Jake, seemed loud and boisterous but his jokes had Theo and the rest of them in stitches. Jared was apparently a gambler as well as being unlucky. Not such a good combination and the wizard told him as much.

"Take his advice Jared and give it up," Paul smirked at him. "But wait until next week. I want my money after my team win that baseball game this weekend."

Paul frightened Theo and he was honest enough that he could admit that. Though the boy seemed good-hearted and was nothing but friendly to him, Theo could see a glint in his eye that spoke of underlying anger that could burst forth at any minute. He was polite to Embry's friend but kept his distance.

The last person Theo was introduced to was Leah, the only girl in the group. The russet-skinned boy whose arm was wrapped around the wizard seemed reluctant to even call her over so Sam did it instead.

"Leah, this is Theo," Embry forced out between gritted teeth. Theo blinked at the tension he could feel between the two. Actually there seemed to be tension between Leah and all of the group.

"Hi," Theo said, determined to be friendly. Besides Leah, although being strongly built, was not a man and could never instil the kind of fear in the brunet that men did.

Leah eyed him warily before grinning, something that the others appeared shocked to see. "Hey," she greeted him warmly. "You know Embry's been talking about you for days."

"Leah," Embry hissed furiously, blushing at the ribald laughter from his friends.

"Well, Seth and Jake can't talk," Leah informed Theo in a faux whisper. "They haven't shut up about up about your brothers either and as I live with Seth its not been easy to refrain from murdering him." Her tone was deadly serious, but she winked at him.

Theo laughed, finding the girl's sarcasm and humour amusing. Much like Draco's actually.

"Oi!" Seth and Jake exclaimed indignantly.

"What?" Leah snorted derisively. "You think it was enjoyable listening to you? Don't answer that."

"Theo!"

Said boy turned in surprise and blinked when he saw Neville running towards him. The plant-lover let out a sigh of relief when he saw his AWOL brother and ran to hug him, dragging him away from Embry's arms. The loss of warmth made him shiver.

"Mate, you can't go wondering off like that." His tone was scolding.

Theo blinked in confusion and saw the amused looks the pack shot him over Neville's shoulder. He patted his brother on the back. "I told Remus I was going for a walk," he pointed out.

Neville pulled back to glare at him. "Yeah, over three hours ago."

The curly-haired boy blinked, then frowned. "What? But I-" A glance at his watched showed the he had left the house over three hours ago.

"Oh no," Theo moaned. "Is Remus worried?"

Neville gave him exasperated look. "Well, yeah but I'd be more worried about Sirius if I was you. We got back from Seattle only to find you gone. Sirius is frantic."

The whole family knew that Sirius had a deep seated fear about losing the people he loved and they all did everything they could to elevate that fear. Coming home to find one of his children missing would not have been taken well.

"We better get back," Theo said, hesitating and glancing back at Embry.

The shape shifter smiled at him and nodded. "I'll pick you up at seven tomorrow ok?"

The wizard blushed and nodded, ignoring the curious look from his sibling and the mischievous looks from Embry's friends.

"Before you go," Quil spoke, glancing curiously at Neville, "Which one are you? There's so many in your family."

"I'm Neville." The brunet grinned at them and waved.

Jake and Seth opened their mouths simultaneously and Theo cut them off, "I'll tell Harry and Draco you said hi."

The pack laughed at the darkening of the boys cheeks. With one last smile for Embry, Theo set off with Neville, listening to his brother happily talk about his date with Ron and the huge greenhouses he had taken him too. He tried to focus and respond but his thoughts were back on the beach with a certain boy.

On the beach, Sam patted Embry, who was looking after his imprint longingly, on the back.

"He seems great," Sam smiled. "I'm happy for you."

A chorus of 'Me too's' echoed from the rest of the pack who hugged him or punched him in congratulations.. He accepted them with a smile and a nod, his thoughts faraway.

"Bit possessive though aren't you Em?" Quil teased him and the others chuckled.

"Yeah." Jared nodded. "You barely let go of him the whole time, or even let us near him. I know he's your imprint dude, but we're not going to hurt him. He's pack now."

There was another rumble of agreement and Embry looked apologetic. "I know you won't. I trust him with you, just as much as I do with me but-"

Leah stared at him intently. "But?"

"He's been hurt by someone," Embry whispered, but with their acute hearing they all caught it.

"What?" They stared at him. "What makes you think that?"

Growling and clenching his fists, the shape shifter whirled around and snarled at them. "Use you heads," he shouted and they flinched back at the unbridled fury in his voice. "They're all adopted. The only reason they would be is if their parents were dead or their guardians were unfit to take care of them."

Eyes wide, the pack glanced at each other as the truth of what Embry said sunk in. The boy blinked furiously. "Besides, he told me himself. The fear in his eyes, the pain. . ." he trailed off, shaking his head.

With one last snarl he made a run for the woods, transforming as soon as he was hidden by the thick foliage. He began to run hoping to burn the fury he felt away before he did something reckless or hurt one of his pack. He could hear some of the others following him but he payed them no heed, ignoring their words in his head. His thoughts centred around one person alone.

Back on the beach, Jake and Seth stood staring and growling in the direction they knew the Old Willow was, wondering if their imprints had been hurt like Theo was. With one last glance, they turned and bounded into the trees, galloping behind the rest of their packmates.

* * *

"-what if he's badly hurt? Or what if he ran away? I should be out looking for him!"

"Sirius, please-"

"Please what? Wait here while one of my kids could be injured and alone out there?"

"No, but-"

Remus' attempts to console a near hysterical Sirius were interrupted when the front door opened and everyone's head turned towards the living room doorway. Seconds later Neville and Theo walked through with the latter firmly clasped against Sirius' chest in a flash. The shaking animagus pressed a kiss against the silky, brown hair.

"Don't you ever run off like that again," Sirius whispered into his hair.

Theo didn't protest the choking embrace, merely snuggled into it. "I just went for a walk." His reply was muffled against Sirius' shoulder. "I didn't mean for anyone to worry."

"We did, Theo," Remus said softly and Theo glanced at him, stricken by the concern he saw there and on his sibling's faces. He purposely avoided looking in Blaise's direction. "I didn't realise you'd be gone for so long. We were frightened and you forgot to bring your phone."

A cell phone was something Remus had insisted upon when they decided to move to a mainly muggle inhabited area. Without being able to contact each other using magical methods, a cell phone was efficient and small. The only problem the kids and Sirius had was remembering to bring it everywhere with them.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"Its alright," Sirius reassured him. "Listen, why don't you go with Harry and Draco. They'll show you the cars we bought today. The ones I spent far too much money."

They all chuckled and after calling out after them that dinner would be ready in a half an hour, all the siblings took off to the garage to exclaim over the shiny jeep and Draco's 'baby'.

Sirius took a shuddering breath and buried into Remus' arms once he was sure they were safely out of sight. "Merlin," he choked out. "I haven't been so frightened in a long time."

"I know."

Pulling back from the embrace, the animagus shook his head and frowned. "Its not good enough. After what you told me Blaise said. . . We're supposed to be a family."

"Don't worry," Remus growled, his eyes flashing. "I plan to deal with that after dinner tonight."

Sirius sighed. "That reminds me. I have something to tell you."

Golden eyes stared at him warily. "I'm not going to like this, am I?"

"Nope."

"Thought not."

* * *

Dinner at the Black-Lupin house that night was less lively than usual. Ron and Neville told an interested Hermione about their date and the smaller boy excitedly informed them about the rose bushes Ron had bought him. Harry and Draco also regaled them with news about Seattle but there was an underlying tension at the table that was going unacknowledged.

Blaise was unusually quiet, throwing sad, apologetic looks across the table at Theo who was studiously ignoring him. The curly-haired brunet accepted his family's fussing over him with minimal protest, knowing that by this time tomorrow things would be getting back to normal.

Most of his siblings were delighted to hear about his meeting up with Embry and their date for the next night with Draco agreeing to help him decide what to wear. Harry reacted to Jake's greeting with a smile and a twinkle in his eyes and though Draco looked uninterested, they could all see that he was pleased that Seth had remembered and thought to ask after him.

Remus and Sirius too were delighted to here that he had made friends with some of the locals. They were wary when they told him about the date planned for the next night, but seeing the hope in his eyes and knowing how rare it was for him to socialise with someone outside of their family, they agreed. They were rewarded with a bright smile which made it worth it. Almost.

When dinner was over, the young wizards were rather surprised to see Remus stand up and bid them sit back down again. Confused, they obliged while casting curious looks at both their guardians' faces.

"I know we usually go into the living room and spend sometime together after dinner," Remus told them. "But tonight Sirius and I have to talk to you about some rather pressing issues."

The werewolf turned to Blaise. "I'm glad you told me of your own free will what happened today," he said, and the siblings who were unaware of what had happened exchanged puzzled glances, "but that does not excuse your actions." His voice was stern.

"We're a family and we're supposed to be there to help and comfort each other. Nothing comes above that." Blaise nodded miserably, looking forlorn.

"I know how much you love Hermione," Remus said, more gently. "But in no way does that mean turning your brother away when he needed to talk because you wanted to spend more time with her."

Looks of comprehension began to dawn on some of their faces when Blaise and Hermione looked down ashamed and Theo wrung his hands in his lap.

"Do you have anything to say, Blaise?" Remus prompted the boy.

Blaise got up from his chair and went around the table, where he knelt before Theo and grabbed the smaller boy in a hug. "I'm so sorry Theo," he whispered. "I wasn't thinking when I said that today. I want you to always come to me when you have a problem, alright?"

The brunet frowned. "I shouldn't be bothering you with my problems."

Blaise shook his head. "Its not bothering me Theo. Its me helping you. Like I'm supposed to. Like I should have done today. Please forgive me?"

Theo merely nodded his head and returned the hug his brother gave him, happy to know that Blaise hadn't truly meant to reject him. Hermione too sent him apologetic looks, but he had never been angry at her anyway.

Remus cleared his throat and Blaise resumed his seat, fidgeting nervously under the glares from Ron, Harry and Draco. Hurting Theo the way he had was not going to be forgiven as easily by the rest of them.

"Thank you Blaise," Remus smiled at the still upset boy, who returned it weakly. "You're still going to be punished though so you're grounded for a week."

Blaise accepted his punishment with a nod, feeling that he deserved much more.

Sirius stood up and with a dramatic flare of his hands that had everybody rolling his eyes, he beckoned Remus to sit back down. "Alright, I have some news as well."

Everyone turned their attention to him.

"Some possibly problematic information has come to light that may affect our stay here," he informed them the kids who frowned.

"What kind of information?" Hermione inquired.

"I managed to slip into a magical alleyway in Seattle for a few moment today to buy some potion ingredients for Theo and Draco to make the Wolfsbane and the apothecary owner told me that there is a coven of vampires living in Forks."

"Vampires?" Draco and Ron blurted out simultaneously, then exchanged disgruntled looks.

"What the hell are vampires doing living among humans?" Harry demanded furiously.

Sirius smiled wryly. "Apparently the coven, known as the Cullens lives as a family and drinks only off of animals. They call themselves 'vegetarians'."

Snickers went around the table before Draco asked, "How will we know if they really don't drink human blood?"

It was Hermione, not Sirius who answered. "Vampires who drink animal blood have golden/topaz eyes rather than magenta like the human-drinking kind do."

The animagus nodded. "What she said."

"Can they be trusted not to attack the humans?"

Both Sirius and Remus frowned. "We believe so," Sirius said finally. "I contacted the head of the coven today. Carlisle Cullen. He works as a doctor in Forks General so I assume he has reasonable control. I don't know about the rest of them though."

Silence resumed for several minutes before Ron, ever the tactician, asked what everyone else was thinking. "What are we going to do?"

"We're going to have a meeting with them," Sirius answered. His mate frowned, clearly having heard this plan before and not agreeing with it. "We have to. We need to know that we're going to be safe here and they needed to know the same. Maybe some kind of treaty can be agreed upon."

"What about-?" Harry glanced at his sandy-haired guardian. Werewolves and vampires were after all, natural enemies.

"That's another thing we're going to have to work on." The head of the Black house sighed. "We need to get them to agree not to attack Remus, if by some chance he happens to escape during the full moon. Unlikely, I know, but still."

"The plan?" Theo inquired. The rest of them leaned forward.

Sirius rubbed his hands together and gave them a manic grin. "We go into the coven's nest itself and scope out the place."

Silence. Then "What?" from all directions.

"You want to go _towards_ the possibly homicidal bloodsuckers?" Harry asked his godfather incredulously.

When Sirius continued to grin insanely, Remus rolled his eyes and stood up. "No," he sighed. "Carlisle Cullen had invited some of us to come meet his 'family' so that we can work something out."

"That's so much better," Draco replied dryly. "At least we're going in voluntarily instead. Not so much homicide as manslaughter then."

Blaise and Ron snorted and the rest chuckled. "Its dangerous I know, but everyone who's going will have wands and you can just apparate back here if anything goes wrong," Remus assured them.

"So who's going?" Hermione wondered.

"Well, I am," Sirius grinned, "Remus can't go because it's the full moon in a week and he'll be even more angsty than usual around vampires. And everyone really." He dodged the hand directed at his head.

"I'll go," Ron volunteered.

"Then I'm going too," Neville said firmly. When Ron looked like he was going to protest, Neville shoved a piece of pie in his mouth. "If you think you're going into a house full of vampires without me, think again."

The red head beamed through his mouthful and replied with a muffled, "You're so sexy when you're bossy."

Neville blushed, looking pleased and accepted the kiss his boyfriend bestowed on him after he has swallowed the pastry. Their parents and siblings looked away when it began to get more passionate.

"Anyone else?" Sirius asked loudly, pulling two flushed boys apart.

Draco sighed. "I'll go," the blond said. "I don't have anything else to do."

"But we were going to start on that boxset of House M.D. that Sirius bought us this week," Harry teased. "If you go you might miss some." He laughed and dodged the stinging spell shot at him.

The blond growled. "You better not watch any of that without me."

"When are we invited?" Neville wanted to know.

"Tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow night?" Draco shrieked, jumping up from his chair. "Are you crazy? I have to pick out something to wear, and fix my clothes and-"

"I'm pretty sure you have over twenty four hours to do that," Ron pointed out. He recoiled at the glare the Slytherin sent him and put up his hands in a peace offering.

Snarling, the blond stalked out of the room and they could hear him pounding up the stairs.

Blaise whistled. "I sure hope Seth is able to handle all that."

"I'm sure Draco will be in very good hands," Theo quipped, eliciating gales of laughter.

They paused at the muttered swears and muffled thumps they heard coming from upstairs.

"Neville, I wouldn't go up to your room for awhile," Harry observed, grinning as he leant back on his chair, hovering on two legs and put his hands behind his head.

"Noted."

* * *

Hi everybody! Well, I could a bit distracted by the several boxsets of series I received for Christmas this year, so I'm apologising profusely for the late update! Thanks so much to everyone who is reading and reviewing, all your reviews just give me more inspiration for this story!

Happy New Year one and all, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! :D


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary: **For the Black-Lupin family, Forks is a second chance at life and at love for a group of war-damaged teenagers and their parents. Post-War. Harry/Jacob

**Pairings:** Harry Potter/Jacob Black, Remus/Sirius, Draco/Seth, Theo/Embry, Hermione/Blaise, Ron/Neville.

**Category:** Harry Potter/Twilight

**Genre:** Romance/Family

**Rating:** M/NC-17

**Warnings:** Mature themes, slash, gay (male/male) relationships, some angst, drama, gay sex, crossover, canon for books one to four and AU after that.

* * *

An indignant yelp came from the centre of the bed when the artic fox there was once again buried under a pile of clothes. Harry shimmied out from under the shirt trying to strangle him and curled up in the middle of the pillow at the head of the bed, watching out for anymore flying clothes.

A pair of black jeans were dodged just in time and the black fox let out a small bark that has its entire body vibrating.

"What?" Draco's voice is muffled inside his closet.

Harry jumped off the bed and trotted over to him, yanking on his trousers leg to get his attention. The blond glances down at the sad emerald eyes, then over to the mess on the bed and sighed. Picking up his temporarily furry brother, he kissed the fuzzy head in apology and, after conjuring a cushion, placed it and Harry on the chest of drawers beside him.

"I'm sorry, Harry. I'm just a bit worked up about tonight," Draco sighed, bending down to pick up a grey pair of slacks. He gave them a once over, before they joined the growing pile of discards on the bed.

Harry whimpered, black ears bent backwards.

"I know I'm getting myself worked up over nothing," the wizard replied quietly. "But you know how much I dislike vampires."

A reprimanding yip answered him.

"I know their supposedly vegetarians and if they are I'll have no problem with them, but if they're not. . ." His voice trailed off ominously.

Emerald eyes gazed at him sadly and Draco smiled, scratching the fox under his chin causing him to thump his tail happily against the cushion.

"We can't all be as trusting as you are Harry," Draco whispered, his expression sad. "I know you like to believe in giving everyone a chance, but some people just don't deserve them. No matter who they are."

Harry whined when he saw that familiar blank façade overcoming the blonde's features. He hated Draco's method of dealing with pain. Instead of crying, or screaming, or even punching things like Ron had a habit of doing, Draco closed himself off from everyone and everything. Trying his best to block off the emotions threatening to overwhelm him and Harry was afraid that one day, he wouldn't be able to pull back from it. That he would remain a stoic, emotionless shell of the person he used to be.

Trying to stop the process before it began was something that everyone in the house, had quickly come used to. Just a simple, gentle touch accompanied by some kind words usually had Draco opening up to that person. Crying or speaking about what was bothering him instead of closing off.

This time a gentle lick across his palm from a rough tongue had Draco blinking rapidly, then smiling through a sheen of tears. Without warning he picked Harry up and cuddled him to his chest. Though surprised for a second, Harry quickly adjusted. People tended to pick him up a lot when he was in his animagus form.

Ron, Theo, Blaise and Neville were all far too large to pick up when they transformed. Draco was too. . . slippery for lack of a better word and Hermione, while she didn't mind perching on someone's shoulder as a red panda, was rather opposed to being cuddled. Several claw marks bore witness to that.

"Its my mom's birthday today," Draco choked out, crumpling to the ground with Harry still in his arms. "I know that everyone hates my parents. And I can understand, I hate them too. But I love them as well. Does that make me a bad person?"

Harry merely looked at him sadly and shook his furry head vigorously. While Blaise, Theo and Draco's parents, or parent in Theo's case, were all locked up in Azkanan, Draco was the only one who could honestly say that he sometimes missed his parents. From a young age Blaise had been subjected to vigorous training in the Dark arts that had turned him viciously against his parents and Theo had no reason to hold any emotion towards his father except for hate.

Draco though. . . his parents had never been abusive. They had never harmed him in anyway, up until the night he had been dragged into his father's dungeons and ordered to either kill an innocent little girl or be executed. His decisions from then on had been quite simple. Kill mindlessly under a madman and his father or fight for a worthy cause.

However, it didn't really sink in for him until the end of sixth year. They had been buying their school supplies in Diagon Alley when Death Eaters had apparated onto the cobbled street and started sending curses in every direction, setting the closest buildings on fire and causing destruction throughout the entire alley. Harry had refused to leave and the others stuck with him.

It was outside Madame Malkin's burning shop that Draco had come face to face with his father. Having not seen the man in nearly sixth months, the blonde barely suppressed the urge to hug his father but he resisted. A moment of silence hung between them as the battle raged on around them and then with a grimace, Lucius Malfoy had held up his wand and shot the Killing Curse at his only son.

Shocked, Draco had barely managed to dodge the curse and after recovering had sent his own barrage of spells back at his father, most of them defensive and none as deadly as the ones Lucius was throwing at him. Catching him in a weak spot, Draco sent a Stunning spell at his father, unable to seriously harm the man and had left him there on the street, his vision blocked by tears which he blamed on the smoke in the air.

"It doesn't make you a bad person."

Both heads, one blond and one furry, shot up to the door where Sirius was leaning on the frame and smiling at Draco sympathetically.

"But-"

"Draco," the animagus cut him off kindly. "They're your parents. No matter what they did, its only natural that you have feelings for them."

The blond wizard scowled angrily. "How can I though? I watched them both kill countless innocent people. My father tortured muggles, children. He wanted me to hurt Emily-" He stopped speaking abruptly at the reminder of the little muggleborn girl who he saved at risk to his own life.

Sirius crossed the room and sank down onto the ground beside them. He held out his hand and after a moment Draco placed his pale hand inside the bigger one. Anxiously, Harry glanced between the two of them and whined, only slightly reassured when Sirius smiled comfortingly at him.

"I knew from a very young age that I was different from the rest of my family," Sirius said quietly. "I could feel my interest waning when ever they spoke about the Dark Lord and how great he had been. I would feel sick to my stomach when I heard my mother and father talking about pureblood supremacy and how it was our right to rule over the muggles. That we were the masters and they were the slaves."

Harry shuddered with horror at the very thought of slavery. In primary school he had devoured books about the Roman Empire, and while he had revelled in the facts about the great empire, he had cowered away from the information about slaves. It resembled his home life enough that he didn't want to examine it any further.

"Despite how much my home life. . . sucked," Sirius grinned when Draco chuckled, "I always had Regulus there by my side. We'd laugh at Mother and Father's notions of grandeur, the ones they were sure they would experience when the Dark Lord returned. Regulus was my best friend right up until I went to Hogwarts." Sirius took a deep shuddering breath and looked pained, his gaze unfocused.

"We kept in contact through letters that first year but even then I could sense something was wrong. He didn't mock our parents, tell me all the embarrassing things they did while I was gone like he promised he would. When I went home that Christmas he was quiet. More reserved than I'd ever seen him. He never laughed at my jokes or came into my room just to talk. He kept to himself the entire time I was home. " Sirius smiled sadly and shook his head. "He wasn't my Regulus anymore. Something had happened while I was gone and even to this day I have no idea what happened to change him so much and to be honest I think I'd rather not know. Ignorance is bliss after all."

"Over the next few years we grew further and further apart until one day I realised that I hadn't spoken to my own brother in almost four months and he lived in the same school as me. When I finally plucked up the courage to approach him in the library one day I heard him and a friend talking about the most recent Death Eater initiation ceremony and how they couldn't wait for their own."

Harry scrambled over to his godfather, tripping slightly as he fell into the man's lap and licked his hand in comfort. Sirius scratched his ears absently mindedly and Harry struggled to pay attention to the rest of the conversation because all he wanted to do was push into those wonderful hands on his ears.

"I was such a coward," Sirius confided in them, his expression ashamed and his eyes glittering. "I couldn't bear to talk to him after what I had overheard. Not when I had just recently joined the Order and was fighting against everything Regulus believed in."

Sirius took a shuddering breath and Harry and Draco held their own because they knew what was coming next. "A year later he was dead. And it wasn't until you lot found out the truth about that locket that I realised that he hadn't been as into the whole Death Eater thing as I thought. Instead he had sacrificed his own life to bring down the Dark Lord."

Draco discreetly wiped the tears from his eyes. The story of Sirius' brother always got them emotional. Sirius' next words had Draco hissing in outrage though.

"Like a true Gryffindor, eh Harry?" Sirius chuckled and Harry yipped loudly in agreement ignoring the blond who was rolling his eyes.

The dog animagus placed a gentle hand on his son's shoulder and bright blue eyes glanced up at him warily. "Never, ever be ashamed of you emotions Draco," Sirius said firmly, "It doesn't make you a bad person because you still love your family. It just makes you human."

The Slytherin boy nodded his head jerkily and after a moment of reluctance he threw himself into Sirius' arms which were already opening in expectance. Barely avoiding being crushed by his brother, Harry dodged out of the way and whined in annoyance. He was ignored by the two and decided to leave them alone so that Sirius could finish reassuring Draco.

With difficulty the little fox clambered up out to the bed and burrowed underneath the pile of Draco's clothes on the bed. It was dark and warm in here, just like a den and perfect for an afternoon nap. Happily, Harry dozed off safe and comfortable in his clothed haven.

Pulling back from the blond, Sirius reached up with one hand to stroke the tears away from the boy's face. "Feeling better," he inquired gently.

Draco sniffed and nodded, reaching up to push back his blonde hair. "Yeah," he replied hoarsely. "Thanks."

"No problem." With a groan Sirius hoisted himself off of the floor and back on his feet.

Draco stood up fluidly and smirked at his guardian. "Getting a bit stiff in your old age?" He laughed and dodged the whack aim at his head, darting back into his wardrobe.

"Insolent little buggers the lot of them," Sirius grumbled on his way out the door. He gasped in shock when a pair of arms wrapped around his waist and dragged him back against a strong chest.

A rumbling growl sounded in his ear, "I remember when you were an insolent little bugger yourself."

Sirius shivered at the hot air that blew over his ear and gulped when his mate's groin was pressed firmly into his backside. He spun around in Remus' arms and grinned up at his husband. "I wasn't the only one," he whispered coyly, lowering his eyelashes.

Remus growled at the heated look his mate threw him and bent down to capture his mouth in a passionate kiss. The black-haired man moaned when an insistent tongue delved into his mouth and stoked over his tongue, twining his own with his mate's. Arms came up to mind themselves around the werewolves neck as Sirius pressed his entire body to Remus' and ground against the hardening organ pushing at his thigh.

A loud cough broke the two apart and Sirius pushed his stray hair out of his eyes to see Blaise and Hermione grinning at them, their hands interlocked.

"Not to interrupt that fascinating display," Hermione grinned, "but maybe you should take it somewhere more private."

Remus began to turn red while Sirius merely let out a bark of laughter. "Well, you heard the smartest witch of her age," the animagus whispered, "we need _privacy_."

They left two chuckling teenagers behind them as they hurried down to their room at the end of the hall.

"Don't forget silencing charms," Blaise yelled after them. The door opened for a minute while Sirius made a rude hand gesture at his adopted son before slamming shut again.

* * *

In his room, Theo was having much the same problems as Draco in picking out an outfit he could wear to his date with Embry. Well, without the drama and swearing.

Picking up a green t-shirt, Theo tugged the one he already had on over his head. He paused when he caught sight of his reflection in the mirror and puzzlement crossed his mind. What did Embry see in him? He barely had any muscles, he was short for his age and he wasn't at all beautiful.

Embry with his golden skin, dark brown eyes and rolling muscles could have anyone he wanted. Yet, he chose you, a little voice in Theo's head reminded him. A small smile crossed his face and Theo was surprised at the way his eyes brightened in his face. Happiness, it was a strange look on him. Good, but definitely strange.

Looking away from his reflection, Theo pulled on the t-shirt and then grimaced. Way too Slytherin. Firing it pack into a drawer he began to rummage for another top, determined the find the right one. He startled when something brushed across his leg and looked down to see a bright orange cat staring up at him.

Theo frowned. He had still not forgiven Crookshanks for chewing his thirty galleon quill to pieces.

"Shoo." He waved his hands in the general direction of the door and began to pull out a maroon jumper before stuffing it back in. What the hell were Ron's clothes doing in his room?

A plaintive meow had the brunet turning back to the frustrating cat. "I don't have any more quills for you to eat," Theo told the cat crossly. Crookshanks tilted his flat face to one side curiously and Theo was hard pressed not to grin, especially when the cat began to roll over onto its back and twist around.

Sighing, he fell to his knees beside his sister's cat and reached out to rub the furry stomach. Almost immediately Crookshanks twirled himself back around and stood up. Theo could see now that the cat had been lying on a grey turtleneck that he hadn't seen when he was looking for a top. Delighted he picked up the top and rubbed Crookshanks on the head.

"You know, you're not all bad," the brunet said happily, Crookshanks merely meowed and began to clean his paws in a dismissive manner now that his work was done. Picking up his wand from the bed, Theo pointed it at a sock and a quick incantation had in turning into a small, brown mouse. Eyes lighting up, Crookshanks followed the mouse's movements with beady eyes before pouncing. The rodent squeaked and ran out of the room with the feline hot on his heels, determined to not let its reward get away.

Theo pulled the turtleneck over his head and grabbed a pair of tight, black denim jeans to pull over his legs. He was just finished buttoning his pants when a knock came at the door and he called out to whoever it was to come in.

Remus peeked his head inside the room and smiled brightly at the sight of his son. "You look lovely," the werewolf told Theo.

The boy flushed in pleasure and grinned happily at his father. "Really?" he asked uncertainly.

"Really," Remus assured him. "I'm sure this Embry will be thrilled when he sees you."

Surprisingly, Theo's face fell and he sank down onto the bed with a pensive look on his face. Confused by the sudden change Remus took a step forward and opened his mouth to ask what was wrong but Theo began to speak first.

"I don't think I can do this," the boy whispered, twisting his hands anxiously in lap. "I've never been on a date before. What if I mess up? What if I say something really stupid and Embry never wants to see me again?"

The werewolf took a seat on the bed beside him and looked at him intently. "You really like this boy don't you?"

Without any hesitation at all, Theo nodded his head and a spark of happiness came into his eyes.

"And you think he likes you too?"

With less certainty this time, the young man nodded again.

"Then you have to have more trust in him. This boy didn't ask you out because he wanted you to be able to say the perfect things and never make a mistake. If he's genuinely interested in you he'll take all of you as you are. Flaws and all. Not that you have many of them," Remus teased, poking a giggling Theo.

The smile from his face after a moment and a look of mixed embarrassment and sadness crossed his pale face. "What if-" he paused and looked in the opposite direction.

"Yes?" Remus prompted.

"What if I can never have sex?" Theo whispered so quietly that even Remus' werewolf hearing had to strain to hear him. "What if I'm so damaged that I won't ever want to. Even with someone I love."

Holding back a growl at the anguish in his son's voice, the werewolf answered as best he could in this situation while wishing that he could bring Greyback back from the dead just so he could have the pleasure of killing him all over again.

"When you picture Embry in your head, can you ever imagine being comfortable enough to be intimate with him?"

With a bright blush covering his cheeks, Theo slowly nodded not wanting to tell his guardian that he had already imagined kissing Embry and doing other things with him.

"Why?" It was s simple question but it took a while before Theo felt he could answer it properly.

"Bacuse he's special," the boy answered slowly. "Because he likes me for me. Because I don't feel as afraid around him. Because he doesn't remind of _him_."

He received a bright smile for his answer. "And that makes all the difference," the werewolf said softly.

Pulling Theo towards him, the older man kissed the boy's forehead and smiled proudly. He had to meet the person who was able to bring about such a change of emotion in his son. A knock on the door had him turning towards his mate who smiled apologetically at him.

"Embry is here," Sirius said, smirking and Theo's head shot up.

Removing himself from his father's hold, the brunet dashed to the dresser to pick up his coat and ran his fingers through his thick, dark curls before darting out the door.

Remus grinned at the exuberance he displayed then ran a lavicious eye over his mate who had changed into a pair of black chinos, a white shirt and a black waistcoat.

"You look divine," he whispered and Sirius beamed at him with a saucy wink.

"I know," he bragged, dragging his mate off the bed. "Now lets go and threaten this young man who wants to date our Theo."

* * *

Breathing deeply, Theo braved himself and entered the sitting room. His eyes were immediately drawn to the figure standing by one of the large windows and talking to Hermione while Blaise stood a few feet away glaring at them. Embry was wearing a pair of blacks slacks and a white shirt that made his dark skin stand out brilliantly.

As though sensing that Theo had entered the room, Embry turned was from his conversation with Hermione and locked eyes with his imprint. He let out a small gasp unknown to himself when his beautiful mate gazed up at him shyly. The urge to kiss him was so strong that Embry had a hard job of restraining himself. Only the knowledge that Theo would most likely be very frightened kept him in check.

"You look wonderful," he choked out, delighted when a pretty blush spread across the other boys face.

"Thank you," Theo said softly, his eyes ran over the other boy's large form once again. "You look very handsome."

"Ahem." An amused voice broke their brief conversation and Embry visibly paled when he spotted his imprint's parents standing my the door looking incredibly intimidating. Well, Remus looked intimidating, Sirius was practically bouncing up and down on the spot.

"Sirius, what have you been drinking?" Harry asked in amusement as he walked in the room with a pile of soda cans in his arms. He dropped them down on the sofa beside Draco who was staring transfixed at the television which was once again playing House and not paying any attention to anything going on around him. It was doubtful that he even knew that Embry was in the house.

"Hey," Sirius cried indignantly. "I only had two cups of coffee."

Everyone minus Embry and Draco turned a raised eyebrow in the animagus' direction who shrugged sheepishly after a moment. "Ok, maybe three," he admitted, "it might have been four, I'm not sure."

Rolling his eyes, Harry turned to Theo and Embry who had now moved closer together, much closer than Theo usually allowed anyone that wasn't family.

"Have a good time tonight," Harry said to them, "and you take care of my brother Embry."

"I will," the dark-skinned boy vowed seriously.

His promise only had Blaise's eyes narrowing further and Hermione struggled to hold him in place before he went and attacked Theo's date.

Remus and Sirius moved up to the two boys together and Theo held back a smile when Embry gulped at the looks he was receiving from the two men.

"We don't ask for anything except that Theo be brought home safe," Remus told the Quileute boy frimly.

"Keep him safe wherever you go. He's not used to crowds or cities," Sirius added. "And bring him home at a respectable time."

"Other than that we're not going to threaten you." Remus grinned at the shocked look on the muscled boy. He hadn't exactly lied. They weren't going to threaten Embry in front of Theo who would probably get upset. When they got him on his own however, the young man would find out just how creative the werewolf could be with his threats of bodily violence.

"Really?" Embry asked warily.

"Really?" Blaise's voice echoed angrily from the couch.

"Really," Remus replied, "Theo wouldn't have agreed to go out on a date with you if he didn't trust you and we're going to trust his judgement."

Theo beamed at his parents happily and they smiled back. Blaise huffed in the corner and glowered at the four of them.

After talking with his imprint's parents and being subtly threatened by them for another few minutes, Embry announced that they had to get going. "I booked a table at restaurant for seven so we better get going now."

Everyone called goodbye as Remus and Sirius walked the two out to Embry's car where they waved them off.

"Your family is awesome," Embry told Theo as he drove out through the huge fronts gates.

Theo rolled his eyes. "You have no idea."

* * *

Inside the house Sirius was rounding up his stray children.

"All right form a line single file," he shouted. He stamped his foot when he was ignored. "The things I put up with." His glower was completely ineffective on his kids.

"Hop to," the animagus called out loudly. "Everyone whose going to the Cullens out to the cars now or we're going to be late."

Groaning, the kids began to remove themselves from the couches while Hermione and Blaise remained comfortably cuddled on one.

"Don't you dare watch on without me," Draco threatened them as he put the House disc back into its cover.

Hermione and Blaise saluted him mockingly and he eyed them warily. Just to be safe he vanished the boxset to his room upstairs and into the laundry basket knowing that neither of them would dare look in there.

Ron, Neville and Draco all hugged Remus goodbye and disappeared out into the garage where the three boys would be riding in Draco's car. Sirius blinked in surprise when he saw Harry dressed to go with them.

"I though you were staying here?"

Harry eyed him as though he was crazy. "Hermione and Blaise will be making out and stuff all night and Remus will be sleeping in preparation for the Full Moon tomorrow night. I'll be bored out of my mind here at home. At least if I go with you guys I get to check out the veggie vamps for myself."

Sirius rolled his eyes at his godson's reasoning. "Fine, but you're riding with me."

Harry shrugged dismissively. He had ridden a broomstick, a Hippogriff and a Thestral. After that driving in a car with Sirius was a piece of cake.

The dog animagus turned back to his lover and gave his a deep kiss. He pulled back after a minute and they rested their heads against each other. "Stay safe," the werewolf whispered.

Sirius smiled softly. "You too and get some rest." He gave him one last kiss before following Harry out into the garage.

Remus looked at his only remaining children for the night. "I'm going to bed," he announced. "Let Theo in when he comes back and try to stay as behaved as you possibly can."

He ignored their mischievous grins as he left the room and began to climb the stairs. The worry he felt with over half his pack going to a vampire coven's home combined with the impending full moon was exhausting him and he fell into bed without taking his clothes off. He was asleep within minutes.

* * *

"There! There!" Harry pointed out the dark opening amongst the thick trees and Sirius barely managed to swerve into it in time.

"Fuck!" he swore. "They couldn't signpost it a bit better could they?"

Harry turned around from making sure that Draco's car was still following them and laughed heartily. "I doubt they get many human visitors," he chuckled, "and any vampire would be able to see that opening in the trees from miles off."

His godfather grumbled under his breath and neither agreed or disagreed with what he had said. Harry stifled another chuckle as Sirius' curses began to get more imaginative. The path that led to the Cullen's home was darkened by the trees towering above it one either side and Harry struggled to see what was behind each bend in the road when the jeep's lights only shone so far in the distance.

The house came into sight suddenly. It was large, not quite the size of Old Willow but beautiful nonetheless. Three stories high with windows covering one entire wall, it was the kind of house that Harry would have expected a wealthy family to own. Not a coven of vampires, yet who was he to make judgments. It certainly had the seclusion the vampires needed anyway where no one could discover their secret.

Sirius parked the jeep a little ways away from the house and seconds later Draco pulled up along side them. Harry bumped fists with Ron when he got out of the car. The red-head the turned to look at the house and whistled. "Nice place," he said admiringly.

Draco sniffed daintily. "Not as nice as ours." The wind brushed his blond hair out of his porcelain face as he glanced at the vampire's home.

"Come on then," he sighed, walking towards the house. "Lets go get eaten by a bunch of vamps."

"Don't worry Draco," Ron began, wrapping a protective arm around Neville's waist. "No one would want to eat you anyway."

He received a furious glare for his comment. "Bet I taste nicer than you Weasley," Draco taunted.

Harry heard a booming laugh come from inside the house which reminded him that vampires had incredible hearing.

"Would you two shut up?" he hissed at two boys who had continued their argument over who was tastier. They had almost reached the door now. "What are they going to think when they hear that you think they're planning on eating us?"

The front door bust open and a petite, dark-haired vampire in a flowing knee-length dress flew out. Her face was split by a wide, happy grin. "That you're really funny!"

"Alice! What have I told you about opening the door before people knock?"

The vampire, Alice, pouted at the reprimand from the female's vampires voice. With an apologetic look she danced back inside and closed the door.

The wizards outside exchanged confused and amused looks and then Neville hesitantly reached forward and knocked on the door. It quickly flew open again and Alice reappeared.

"Nobody would ever reach the door that quickly either." It was a male voice this time and it sounded as though he was laughing.

"Shut up," Alice hissed, before grinning happily at her guest.

"Hi! Welcome to our humble abode," she chirped cheerfully. "May I take you coats?"

When they nodded it took her less than a second to gather all their coats and hang them up. She then led them into another room where the rest of the coven was waiting.

Together they made a striking image, set against a dark red wallpaper and a white piano they stood out like beacons their pale skin and golden eyes remarkable.

A beautiful blond man, with kind eyes took a step forward with a pretty auburn haired woman by his side. "Hello," he greeted them, with a soft, musical voice. "My name is Carlisle Cullen and this is my wife Esme." The gentle looking woman gave them a kind smile.

The leader of the coven turned back to his family and beckoned them forwards. A tall boy, about seventeen with bronze hair nodded at them when Carlisle introduced him as Edward. A beautiful blond woman arm in arm with a bear-like vampire that Harry bet had made the laugh they had heard earlier on were Rosalie and Emmett. While Rosalie merely stared coldly at them without making any kind of greeting, Emmett gave them a huge smile and a big wave.

"This," Carlise gestured to a man with dark blonde hair and a pinched face, "is Jasper. And of course you've already met Alice, " he added wryly and Harry grinned at the bouncing vampire who was holding on tightly to Jasper's hand.

"It's very nice to meet you all," Esme said and Harry could tell she was been genuine. It was refreshing to meet someone so honest even if she was a vampire. A growl from the vampire Edward had Harry turning curiously in his direction. Edward was glaring at him and Harry raised an eyebrow at the irate vampire before shrugging. Alice giggled at the annoyed look on her brother's face at being dismissed so easily.

"It's nice to meet you too," Sirius replied, reaching forward to shake Carlisle's hand and kiss Esme's who giggled daintily. The vampires were clearly impressed when he did not flinch at the feel of their cold skin.

"My name is Sirius Black-Lupin and these are my kids Harry, Ron, Neville and Draco," he pointed them out as he said their names and they all waved at the Cullens, with the exception of Draco who was looking determinedly over their heads.

"Sit down please," Carlisle offered and they each took a seat on the couch behind them with the exception of Harry and Ron who remained standing behind to couch. The Cullens took their own seats but Jasper and Emmett chose to remained standing close to their family.

"Now," Carlisle began, leaning forwards with his elbows on his knees, "where do we begin? I'd like to say first that I was fascinated when you called me up out of the blue yesterday and told me that you knew what we were."

Rosalie hissed her displeasure at them and the others eyed them warily. Harry and his siblings turned to glare at their guardian.

"You told them that you knew they were vampires?" Neville inquired incredulously.

Looking confused Sirius nodded and jumped when Draco shouted at him. "Why would you tell a bunch of vampires we knew what they were? Are you trying to kill us? It's any wonder that they didn't attack us as soon as we entered the house."

Sirius was looking sheepish now. "Well, it got their attention didn't it?" he defended himself.

Laughter had the wizards turning back to the Cullens who were looking very amused by their conversation. Even Rosalie was smiling.

"Yes, it did get our attention," Carlisle agreed, "I presume you don't mean us any harm?"

The wizards shook their heads, while Draco muttered "As long as you don't mean us any."

Carlisle laughed and shook his head. "Not to fear young man. We do not drink the blood of humans. You and your family are in no danger."

Draco nodded stiffly, but everyone could see that he began to relax.

"We did however want to talk to you about something," Sirius said. "A. . . treaty of sorts?"

The vampires all stiffened and begin to exchange uneasy glances. "Why would we need a treaty between us?" Emmet asked gruffly.

Harry spoke this time. "We knew you were vampires for a reason you know."

Edward stared at him warily. "And how is that?"

Before Harry could answer Alice jumped up and blurted out excitedly, "They're wizards!" Realising that everyone was staring at her she plopped back down in Jasper's lap.

Mouth gaping Ron managed to speak, "How did you know that?"

"I'm a Seer," Alice told them. "I can see into the future."

Harry groaned and Ron patted him on the back sympathetically. "I hate Seers."

Alice looked hurt and Harry quickly amended, "I bet you're really lovely but I haven't had good experiences with Seers." Alice looked reassured and grinned at him. "I doubt I'm anything like that other Seer."

"That's for sure," Ron mumbled. Alice Cullen was about as different from Sybill Trelawney as you could get.

"What do you mean you're wizards?" Rosalie asked suspiciously.

"As in we're wand-waving, spell-chanting, broom-riding, cauldron-stirring wizards," Draco drawled. "Figure it out for yourself blondie."

"Look who's talking," the blonde vampire snarled back.

Emmett as shaking with excitement and shoved Edward aside that he could sit down. "You mean you can cast spells and fly and everything?"

When they nodded he barked out a laugh. "That's so cool! Cast a spell on me!"

"Say please?" Harry teased finding himself strangely fond of his oversized teddy bear. He pulled out his wand as Emmett began to plead with him.

A quick incantation pointed at his legs had Emmett Irish dancing around the living room. Rosalie giggled as her husband gazed in amazement as hiss dancing legs. "Woo," Emmett yelled," I'm the Lord of the Dance."

Grinning, Sirius twirled his wand and Emmett's hair turned green, white and gold. Holding each other up to keep from falling, Edward and Japer laughed hysterically at their brother.

"Do me, do me! I want long hair and whatever you wizards wear!" Alice demanded.

This time Draco, the expert on hair and fashion spells cast several spells in succession that had Alice dancing happily around Emmett with floor-length hair and fashionable purple robes. "These are really pretty," the small vampire gasped as she examined her silk robes. "Can I keep them? Please?"

She squealed happily when Draco nodded and threw herself exuberantly at her husband who caught her around the waist but not in time to stop her from knocking over a porcelain lamp.

"Oh, my lamp," Esme cried, looking dismayed. Alice looked up apologetically. "I'm sorry Esme, I didn't see that that was going to happen."

"Don't worry about it," Harry said, pointing his wand at the broken shards of glass. "_Reparo."_

The glass quickly fitted itself back together perfectly and with another charm was back up on the table looking as good as new.

Esme moved as quick as lightening to kiss Harry's cheek and then moved to examine her newly repaired vase.

"We could sure use you around the house," Emmett, boomed still dancing away without a care in the world.

Esme levelled a glare at him. "We wouldn't need to use him to repair things if you and your brothers weren't so careless."

"I'm a man," the large vampire defended, "its in my nature to fight."

Rosalie held out a long leg that caused her husband to fall over, his legs still dancing the jig. "What were you saying honey?" she inquired sweetly.

Carlisle shook his head and turned to Sirius. "I'm sorry. They're not usually this bad. Well, yes they are but I thought they might restrain themselves tonight. Apparently not."

Sirius waved away his apology with a grin. "My little tykes are just as bad," he replied, ruffling Harry and Draco's hair.

Draco shrieked indignantly. "It took me hours to do that," he howled causing Ron to roll his eyes.

"I'm sorry for asking," Edward spoke quietly, "but none of you seem related and yet you refer to yourselves as family."

Harry ended the curse on Emmett's legs but left his hair the way it was. He knew they were getting to the important parts of the conversation now.

"We are a family," the head of the Black family answered confidently. "Just as you think of yourselves as family, so too do we. I don't suppose you've heard about the going ons in Britain over the past few years?"

The Cullens answered in the negative looking curious.

"Our world, the Wizarding World had been fighting a war for the past four years. It began long before that but there was a fourteen year period of cold war because the main leader of the opposition had vanished. We were heavily embroiled in this war because of Harry's role in it." All the Cullens turned to Harry who smiled weakly.

"Our world believed that Harry was their saviour," Draco spoke up. "That he was the one who would rescue us from the leader of the opposition, Lord Voldemort, who had returned after a fourteen year absence. The Wizarding World was very clearly split into two sides each with their own aims."

"What were the aims?" Jasper asked suddenly and a quick glance in those golden eyes had Harry recognising kin. Someone who had been through war, who had survived and come out the other war alive but nowhere near unscathed.

"The Dark as they were known had very specific aims. Eliminate all muggleborns, wizards or witches who were born to non-magical parents," Harry explained. "Eliminate all blood-traitors these were people live Sirius, Ron and Neville who were from pureblood families but were against the Dark's ideals. And finally when the time was right show ourselves to the muggles or non-magical people and rule over them."

The Cullens looked horrified. "Have people as slaves?" Rosalie whispered. "That's barbaric. How could anyone think like that?"

Draco smiled bitterly. "My parents did," he hissed. "They thought that all muggles were dirt and should be destroyed. They tried to get me to torture a little muggle girl and I couldn't. . ." Draco looked pained. "I left the Dark behind, escaped with the girl and joined the light."

"That was a very brave thing to do Draco," Esme said admiringly to the blond who blushed uncomfortably and mumbled his thanks.

"The Light was against everything the Dark was trying to accomplish but they had their faults as well. They were incredibly prejudiced against anyone from the Dark side even if they didn't hold the same ideals and they were also extremely hostile to magical creatures."

"Magical creatures?" Carlisle repeated. "As in vampires?"

"Yes," Sirius agreed. "Vampires, werewolves, centaurs, giants, you name it they had a grudge against it. And its also why most magical creatures joined the Dark side."

Jasper nodded slowly. "That would make sense," he said thoughtfully. "Why join a side that going to turn on you as soon as they don't need you anymore."

Ron chuckled weakly. "I imagine that's exactly the way they saw it."

"I presume you won," Rosalie commented wryly, "otherwise you wouldn't be here."

"We did win and its also why we left," the dog animagus replied. "After the war was over things were tense and the kids needed a place where they could recover in peace which is why we're here."

"What about your parents?" Esme asked quietly.

Harry exchanged glances with the others who nodded. "My parents are dead," Harry said softly, "they were murdered by Lord Voldemort when I was a baby and I was brought by my mother's sister and her husband. They weren't exactly the kindest people I know."

A vicious growl startled him and he stared at Rosalie in surprise. "They abused you," she snarled. It was more of a statement than a question but Harry shakily nodded anyway.

She screamed in outrage and Emmett had to fight to keep her in his lap as she struggled. "Rose, Rosie," he whispered soothingly. "Its ok. Shush hun. Its ok."

Eventually Rosalie seemed to give up, her body collapsing back against her mate and she let out a breathless sob.

Alice quietly explained to the wizards. "Rosalie adores children. She hates the idea that anyone could hurt something so pure and innocent."

"She wants children," Draco intuitively observed and Alice nodded.

"More than anything in the world," she whispered sadly.

Pulling attention away from Rosalie, who he was sure would be uncomfortable with all the attention Neville spoke, "My parents are in a permanent psychiatric ward because they were tortured by Voldemort's followers. Something similar happened to Hermione's parents. They were in an . . . accident and can't remember her now. My gran raised me but she died shortly after the war."

Ron held Neville's hand when his voice wavered which brought raised eyebrows from many of the vampires and a wink from Alice. "I have a huge family and one of my brothers died in the war. My parents took it pretty badly and home was stifling so Sirius and Remus offered to take me with them when they moved."

"Remus?" Carlisle looked puzzled.

Sirius smirked. "My husband. Surely you don't expect me to look after all these brats by myself do you?"

"Oi!"

"And after all Sirius who would look after you and your needs?" Draco teased.

The wizards and vampires alike chuckled as a blush spread over Sirius' face. He cleared his throat and ignored the laughter at his expense. "Remus is at home looking after Hermione and Blaise and Theo's out on a date."

"Hermione?" Alice questioned. "A girl?"

"Uh, yeah last time I checked she was," Ron said, scratching his head.

"But you're all boys!"

"So?"

"So?" Rosalie, Esme and Alice looked indignant on Hermione's behalf. "You can't leave a girl alone in a house full of boys! She'll get some kind of complex or something."

The boys exchanged confused glances. "Um, we'll bring her with us next time and you can have a girly day?" Harry offered hesitantly.

The female vampires beamed at him. "Wonderful," Alice giggled.

Crazy vampires, Harry thought. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Edward chuckling and a disturbing thought suddenly occurred to him. "You can read my thoughts!" Anger radiated out of Harry and the lights began to flicker. "You have no permission to do that!"

Edward held up his hands in surrender and shook his head. "I can't control it," he explained quickly, glancing warily at the wand pointed directly at him, "I can read all your thoughts, its my gift, my curse as a vampire."

Carlisle stepped in front of Harry's wand, protecting Edward from it. "It's true," he said. "While Alice is a Seer, Edward can read minds. Jasper can read people's emotions."

Reluctantly Harry lowered his wand but not before casting an Impenetrable charm around his mind to keep the vampire out. He wasn't going to let anyone root through his head, accidentally or not. The others followed his example and all cast the charm on their minds to keep their thoughts protected.

"I wish everyone could do that," Edward grumbled, "I wouldn't have to listen to Emmett's thoughts when he and Rosalie have sex then."

"Quit your whining Ed." Emmett stretched a hand to ruffle the vampire's hair. "You totally get off on reading my thoughts you hundred-year-old virgin you."

Edward growled at his brother who laughed at having riled the mind reader up.

"Down boy!" Esme reprimanded, then turned back to the wizards. "What about you Draco? Where are your parents?"

Draco's slightly open expression became still and closed off. "Blaise, Theo and my parents are all in the wizard prison Azkaban because they were on the Dark side."

"Oh sweetheart, I'm sorry," Esme cooed empathetically.

"Don't be," Draco smiled tightly at her, not being able to get angry at such a kind person. "They all deserve to be there. Especially Theo's father."

"Bastard," Ron spat harshly and the others all agreed.

The Cullens looked curiously at them but didn't ask for an explanation. It wasn't their place.

"So about this treaty," Carlisle began, "I think that the main idea should that be that we don't attack each other without cause."

Sirius and the teenagers chuckled. "That would be a start however there is two other things that need to be addressed. One is that if anyone comes looking for us, you don't tell them where we are and inform us immediately. We already have protective wards up around our house but you can never be too safe."

Carlisle turned his head slightly in Edward's direction and whispered. After a moment he turned back and nodded. "That sounds reasonable. What's the other thing?"

Sirius took a deep breath and decided to take the plunge. "Remus is a werewolf."

The reaction was instant. Jasper and Rosalie were on their feet and snarling in a second while the others looked far more wary that they had before. "Wait, for a moment before you go crazy," Sirius exclaimed. "Have you ever actually met a werewolf?"

"Of course we have," Rosalie hissed, "Horrible disgusting creatures. They smell disgusting and they look even worse. How can you stand to be married to something that could lose its temper and turn into a wolf at anytime?"

"Excuse me?" Sirius stood as well. "I have no idea what you're talking about but Remus certainly doesn't have a temper."

"Well, every other night except the full moon," Ron murmured and Harry stifled a chuckle.

"Full moon?" Carlisle asked.

"Yeah." Sirius looked at him oddly. "You know, its that time of the month where the moon is well, full and Remus' gets a little bit hairier and more bad-tempered than usual."

Carlisle looked excited and the others looked interested. "You mean he's a werewolf? An actual full moon werewolf? Not a shape shifter?"

"A shapeshifter?" The animagus appeared confused. "No, Remus was bitten when he was seven and transforms every full moon."

"That's incredible," Carlisle breathed. "Is is painful? The transformation?"

"Hell yeah." Harry shuddered. "I've seen it happened before without the Wolfsbane potion to know that it hurts like hell. I don't know how he used to go through it."

"The Wolfsbane Potion?" Jasper looked intrigued that there was a kind of werewolf out there that was different from the Quileute tribe.

"It's a potion," Draco explained. "It keeps a lot of the pain at bay and allows Remus to keep his human mind during the transformation. Otherwise he'd turn into Moony."

Emmett bust out laughing. "Moony?"

"It's what we call Remus' alter-ego, werewolf personality."

"Its just if Remus manages to escape, which is very unlikely," Sirius assured them, "he probably won't come back even if he's in a human frame of mind. Being in the body of the wolf will make him reckless. Please don't attack him"

"What if he attacks us first?"

Harry shook his head. "He won't. If he lunges at you it just means he wants to play. Throw a stick for him or something."

"You want us to play fetch with a werewolf who is human for twenty nine days of the month," Rosalie sneered.

"Pretty much," Harry nodded.

"Well, I'm in," Alice piped up happily. "I think it would be cool to wolfsit Remus."

"Me too," Emmett agreed.

Jasper shrugged. "I'm in." Alice kissed her boyfriend happily as a reward.

"What about you?" Neville said. "Is there conditions you'd like to add to the contract."

The Cullens exchanged glances and after a moment began to whisper quietly together. Harry's eyes wandered around the room there were in in interest. He'd never expected the Cullens to live such a civilised lifestyle. Sure, they were 'vegetarian' vampires but every vampire he had ever met in the Wizarding World had been barbaric and vicious to the point of insanity.

"We have two requirements," the leader of the coven informed them. "The first is that you keep our identities secret as we will keep yours and the second is to tell us if you seen any vampires, red eyed or gold eyed over at the reservation. We don't like getting unexpected visitors and Alice can't see beyond the boundary between Forks and La Push."

"I didn't know there was a restriction to seeing the future," Draco drawled.

Alice smiled tightly. "There is to mine."

Sirius sensed a tension starting in the vampires so he quickly conjured a piece o parchment, two quills and a pot of ink.

"We have no problem telling you if there are any stranger vampires in La Push and unless they attack my family first we won't attack them. We'll leave them for you to deal with. Agreed?"

"Agreed." Carlisle answered. "Should we get started?"

"Boooorrrrrrinnnngggg," Draco drawled. "If that's all I'm going to go wait in my car until we're done."

"What kind of car do you have?" Rosalie inquired, leaning forward in interest.

"It's a Porshe Carrera."

The blonde vampire gasped and Emmett whistled. "Those are beautiful," she grinned. "Can I have a look?"

Draco glanced at her then smiled and nodded. "Maybe you can help me with this problem I'm having with the gearshift?"

"Sure. It could be the. . ." Her voice trailed off as she and Draco vanished outside with Edward trailing after them.

Alice was dragging Harry determinedly towards the stairs while she explained what she wanted him to do to her room.

"I want the lights to be a really pretty colour. Green, no pink. Wait, blue definitely blue." She gathered up her hair in both her arms as she stumbled over it again and huffed in annoyance.

Harry looked amused. "Want me to shorten it again?"

Thoughtfully, Alice nodded. "I think that might be best."

With a wave of his wand her hair was now in a stylish pixie cut again and she sighed in relief. "How about this? I conjure blue balls of light or whatever colour you want and then have them float around the room?" Harry suggested.

"Ooh, that sounds so pretty!" The petite vampire clapped her hands together excitedly and grabbed Harry's hand as she began to dance up the stairs. "How about blue _and _purple?"

The ex-Boy-Who-Lived bounced up the stairs after her, happy to have found somebody with as exuberant a personality as he had.

Shortly afterwards, Ron was convinced easily to join Emmett and Jasper in playing the PS3 when Emmett began to brag about the new Assassin's Creed game. Neville, wrapped in his boyfriend's arms trailed along with them and smiled when Ron and Emmett began to compare who had the better biceps. He and Jasper simultaneously shared a look of exasperation and amusement between the two competitive boys.

In the living room, Sirius and Carlisle were left alone when Esme insisted on preparing some food to feed the humans/wizards in her home. They two men chuckled and shook their head at their families and then with a deep sigh they settled down to begin the contract that would solidify the bond between both their families.

* * *

Hello, my darlings! I hope you all enjoyed your holidays and are now happy back at work, school or college (I know I'm not!). I'm really sorry for how long this chapter took to get up but school got in the way slightly and prevented me from finishing off the end!

Thank you so much to everyone who has been favouriting, alerting and particularly, reviewing! You have no idea how much inspiration they give me to continue writing A Curious Nature! A huge thanks to my reader and reviewer Scribitur Ad Narradum who has created some banners for this story which can be found at uld-artworks(dot)dreamwidth(dot)org/.

Next Chapter: Theo's date and the Full Moon!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary: **For the Black-Lupin family, Forks is a second chance at life and at love for a group of war-damaged teenagers and their parents. Post-War. Harry/Jacob

**Pairings:** Harry Potter/Jacob Black, Remus/Sirius, Draco/Seth, Theo/Embry, Hermione/Blaise, Ron/Neville.

**Category:** Harry Potter/Twilight

**Genre:** Romance/Family

**Rating:** M/NC-17

**Warnings:** Mature themes, slash, gay (male/male) relationships, some angst, drama, gay sex, crossover, canon for books one to four and AU after that.

* * *

Embry had told Theo at the very beginning of the journey that he had booked a table at an Italian restaurant in Port Angeles.

"Do you like Italian?" Embry asked nervously, thinking that he probably should have inquired about that before he booked the table.

"Italian is fine," Theo replied softly. He looked up when Embry called his name softly.

"Everything will be fine," Embry reassured his nervous imprint. Theo glanced at his imprint shyly out of the corner of his eye and the shapeshifter gave him a bright smile that caused the wizard's heart to thump faster in his chest.

"I know."

On the drive to the restaurant neither wizard nor werewolf said much. Rather than feeling uncomfortable about the silence, Theo simply felt that no words were needed. Every few minutes Embry would place his hand over Theo's and hold it gently, moving slowly so that his imprint would see him moving and would not be startled. He'd only remove it again when he needed it to shift the gears before returning again and after the first few times Theo held his hand out in anticipation for the warmth of Embry's hand to cover his own again.

It was if they had know each other their entire lives and were now being reunited after an extended absence. The quietness in the car was surprisingly comfortable, even reassuring. The only tension came from their over awareness of each other. Theo could feel every breath Embry took as if it was his own and the shapeshifter could sense when Theo was beginning to get anxious again and a gently spoken word or two would stop his hands from wringing in his lap.

As innocent as he was when it came to sexual tension, having never experience anything except violence during sex, Theo felt as if the car was too warm and enclosed at times. Every so often the scent of Embry's cologne and a natural scent that smelt wild and free would drift towards him and he would inhale deeply, his eyelids fluttering.

It was combined with another scent as well. A muskier scent that had him feeling strangely happy and warm.

Not much later, they parked outside a restaurant called _Bel Cibo_. Theo quickly removed himself from the stifling car and Embry followed him. Without waiting for Embry to make the first move, Theo reached forward and slid his small hand into the Native American's much bigger one. Embry glanced down in surprise and then smiled happily at Theo, who blushed and ducked his head feeling shy about his out of character boldness.

They entered the restaurant hand in hand and after waiting for a moment the host came up to greet them.

"Reservations under Call," Embry told him, stroking his thumb across Theo's wrist when the boy's hand began to tremble inside of his.

The huge brown eyes set in the pale wizard's face began to widen as they darted around frantically, taking in the crowded restaurant. Theo attempted to centre himself and came his rapid breathing by clutching tightly to the large, warm hand which completely enclosed his own smaller one. It worked for the most part and the wizard began to slowly relax in the unfamiliar surroundings with Embry by his side.

The restaurant's host, a man in an expensive, dark suit and a navy cravat, ran his finger down the open reservation book in front of him and then nodded. "Si. Come with me, par favoir."

They followed the man into the restaurant, passing couples and families dining happily. The restaurant was beautifully decorated with wall paintings by Italian artists that Theo did not recognise but thought were wonderfully painted nonetheless. Elaborate sconces were placed every few metres along the wall on medium lighting giving the entire place an intimate glow.

The host led them down to one of the more discreet tables in the restaurant. It would give them their privacy while they could still see the rest of the people dining at the tables nearby. "This is you table, signori. Someone will be down to take your order in a few moments." He handed them both a menu and with a bow left them alone.

Reluctantly, separating their hands they each took a seat at the table.

Theo opened the menu he had been given and frowned in puzzlement. It was all in Italian. Not a word was in English.

"Can't understand it?" Embry guessed after seeing the confusion on his face. He laughed when Theo shook his head. "Me neither. I've never had much interest in learning foreign languages."

"I can speak a little French," Theo told him, "but Blaise can speak fluent Italian. I guess I should have asked him for lessons."

"Blaise? That's the one who was glaring at me and hoping I'd burst into flames isn't it?"

The brunet let out a startled laugh and nodded. "Blaise is very protective of me. Of all of us really."

"But especially of you?" Embry guessed. He knew he was correct when Theo lowered his eyes to his menu again, his stance anxious once again.

Angry with himself for making the other boy nervous when he had begun to relax, Embry quickly changed the subject. "Do you know what I do when I don't know what to order?"

Theo looked up curiously at the Quileute boy and shook his head. Embry grinned and closed his eyes, then ran a finger down the length of the menu before stopping and opening his eyes. "Penne all'arrabbiata ," he announced.

Trying to hold in his chuckles, the young wizard closed his own eyes and let his finger trail down over the smooth surface of the menu. He gingerly opened one eye when he stopped and said softly, "Pasta Carbonara."

The waitress came to take their order shortly after that and they both ordered a glass of coke as well.

"See?" Embry put his hands in his lap and leaned forward over the table. "Works every time."

Trembling, under his gaze Theo began to pant slightly as he felt himself heating up. He bravely raised his eyes to meet his date's and gasped at the tender gaze he was been given. There was that look again. The one where Embry seemed to see Theo as though he was the most important thing, the only thing even, in the entire world. To be on the receiving end of such a look was overwhelming to the wizard after so many years of abuse and he asked Embry about his family to change the subject.

"I'm an only child. Well, kind of," Embry told him. "I've never met my father and I don't want to, to be honest. I love my mother and I'm happy that she's my only family."

His love for his mother was quite clear in his voice and Theo bit his lip when a vague memory of his own mother came into his mind, of a time before his entire world had been turned upside down.

"My mother died when I was really young and I don't really remember her. I only remember my father and I wished I didn't," Theo said.

"I'm so sorry Theo. How did she die?"

"An accident," the wizard lied. "A terrible accident."

Their food arrived then and Theo was glad to see that Pasta Carbonara didn't turn out to be some weird, inedible dish. It seemed to be a plain enough plate of pasta with a delicious smelling sauce poured on top of it. He carefully picked up a small piece on his fork and placed it in his mouth, chewing slowly while he did so then hummed happily at the burst of flavour in his mouth.

Across the table, Embry was happily digging into his own meal. He'd only had two breakfasts, a dozen ham and cheese sandwiches, eight burgers and a carton of vanilla ice-cream to eat that day. He was ravenous. He gulped down his dish quickly and was finished by the time Theo was half way done.

When he was full, the brunet put down his fork and smiled slyly at the bigger boy. "You sure you had enough?" His gaze wandered to the crystal clean plate and Embry's skin darkened as he blushed.

"I have a big appetite," he admitted sheepishly. There was a pause for a moment before he asked, "Are you going to finish that?"

Laughing softly Theo shook his head and passed his plate to his date, happy to share his food. At least Embry scoffed his food down with someone amount of dignity, nothing like having to watch Ron eat.

While they were waiting for desert they both shared small pieces of information, likes and dislikes. While movies were something slightly out of Theo's knowledge range, books, both magical and muggle, were something he knew a lot about and was delighted to discover that Embry was passionate about them too. Well, the muggle ones at least.

"How can you not love the Lord of the Rings trilogy?" Theo demanded.

"Its stupid."

"It amazing," the wizard protested and Embry inwardly celebrated at having brought that healthy flush to those cheeks, that passionate sparkle to those chocolate eyes.

"I'm not saying that the storyline isn't incredible. It is and I can watch all three films in a row without moving, but I will never read those books again," Embry replied grimacing.

"You'd rather see a story than read it?" His voice was incredulous and the shape shifter raised a single eyebrow at him.

"Have you ever watched the Lord of the Rings movies?"

Theo opened his mouth to answer then sighed. "No."

"Ha!" Embry said triumphantly. "Then you have no idea what you're missing out on. Now if you were trying to get me to reread a Darren Shan book it would be a different thing altogether."

The boy across his rolled his eyes heavenwards but didn't argue. He was simply enjoying himself too much. Their desert arrived then, a piece of chocolate fudge cake each and Theo's mouth watered. He kept it a secret that he had incredible sweet tooth, although many in his family had already discovered it and teased him relentlessly about it. Remus, of course, hadn't a leg to stand on.

The cake was delicious and Theo happily dug into it, moaning softly at the rich and decadent taste. He ate it with pleasure, oblivious to his transfixed date who was staring unblinkingly at the chocolate cake disappeared between those soft, pink lips. When he was finished, the brunet began to lick his fingers clean determined not to let any of the cake escape.

Embry only barely held back a groan and Theo glanced up at his curiously when he made a strained noise. "Are you ok?" he asked concerned, noting that Embry hadn't touched his desert.

The shape shifter blinked blearily at him the smiled tightly. "I'm fine, thanks."

"Um, ok."

Embry stood up slowly and held out his hand to Theo who happily, almost eagerly took and sighed at the warmth that radiated up his hand. The Native American was like a furnace and the wizard longed to curl into the warmth but dared not to.

They paid, or rather an insistent Embry paid, for the meal and they left the restaurant quietly. Theo shivered when the cold air hit them and his date hurried him into the car and the warmth.

Once again, the drive pack to La Push was made mostly in silence but this time in held a tenser tone. Neither boy wanted the evening to end and although Embry knew he had promised Theo's parents that he would get him home at a reasonable hour the temptation to drive around all night just so he could spend more time with his imprint was incredibly strong.

Embry pulled up outside the large gates to Old Willow and got out of the car first so that he could open Theo's door. Nervous and uncertain the wizard stared up at the taller boy. Merlin, he wished that the night could have lasted for longer than this.

Remorseful that he'd had so little time with his time with his imprint, Embry gazed down into those huge, brown eyes and a huge burst of emotion had his heart fluttering and his knees going weak.

"I know," Embry blurted out, then closed his eyes at his stupidity. "I mean- at least I think I know."

"Know what?" Theo asked fearfully, struggling not to take a step back.

"About what hurt you. It was, you were-"

"-raped," Theo whispered. "Hard to say isn't it." He winced at how bitter his voice sounded.

A large, dark hand reached out slowly and cupped Theo's face, lifting those watery blue eyes to meet his.

"So beautiful," Embry whispered softly, wiping away the silvery tear tracks. "How anyone could hurt you is beyond me."

Theo hiccupped a sob and a tremulous smile spread over his face that had Embry breathing in sharply.

Slowly, so as not to startle his imprint, Embry began to lower his face towards Theo's. He stopped when there lips were inches apart and smoothed his thumb over the boy's sharp cheekbone, wanting Theo to make the next move. Wanting Theo to trust him enough that he would feel safe enough to move. He waited patiently and then suddenly the wizard found his courage.

He moved forwards, taking Embry by surprise and pressed his lips cautiously against the shapeshifters, then more firmly as his courage grew. Frozen at first, the dark-skinned boy quickly recovered and buried his other hand in the wizard's silky, chocolate curls.

Theo was shocked when he felt Embry's tongue laving over his lips but he instinctively pressed closer to the muscular boy and opened his mouth to receive it. All traces of anxiousness and nervousness fled and he whimpered when Embry's tongue gently invaded his mouth. Embry's other hand moved to curl in Theo's hair as well and he cradled his imprint's head as he kissed his with an intense thoroughness. As they continued to kiss Theo's hand moved up to hold onto broad shoulders as his knees became weak with the desire flooding his system.

It took all of Embry's will power to pull back from the kiss but now that he was sure of what had happened to Theo, even if he didn't know the details, he knew he couldn't put pressure on his mate. Pushing him too far, too quickly would only break Theo even if the boy didn't know that himself.

Theo was panting faintly when he pulled back, his eyes glazed over and confused, no doubt because of the new and intense emotions he was experiencing. His cheeks and nose were stained a pink hue and his lips were kiss swollen. Embry moaned when he saw the wizard's face wanting nothing more to return to kissing him but. . .

"Theo," he called gently. "I'm going to walk you back to your house, okay?"

His imprint blinked blearily at him for a moment before recovering and smiling at him happily. Together they walked up the long lane that led to Old Willows pressed close together, their hands clasped tightly. When they reached the door Theo turned around and gazed shyly at the shape shifter.

"I had a wonderful time tonight," Theo said softly, tempted to lick his lips at the best memory of all.

"So did I," Embry beamed. "Could we do this again?"

"You want to?" Theo looked slightly surprised but mostly delighted.

"Yes," the other boy replied firmly, his hand coming up to cradle Theo's face again. "I can't think of anything I want more."

"Then I'd loved to go out with you again," the brunet told him.

Theo turned to go inside before abruptly whirling around again, and pressing his lips against Embry's in a chaste kiss. "Goodnight Embry," he murmured, then disappeared into the house.

The Quileute boy's eyes widened, then he smiled. "Goodnight Theo."

Inside the house, Theo had his back pressed against the door as he trembled, his eyes closed tightly and his face split into a wide grin. He opened his eyes at the sound of laughter and scowled at Harry who was sitting on the stairs with a cup of tea in his hands.

"I take it, it went well then," he chuckled, sipping his drink with a happy sigh.

The scowl quickly disappeared and was replaced with a smile. "It was wonderful. He said he wanted to see me again."

"Why wouldn't he?" Harry demanded, standing up as he finished the last of his drink. "Any men would be glad and damn lucky to have you."

An impulse, Theo rushed across the hall and hugged his brother tightly against him. He breathed in the sugary scent of the tea as Harry hugged him back and breathed softly in his ear, "I love you, Harry."

With that he released him and took the stairs two at a time, leaving Harry staring after his with a grin on his face. "Love you too, bro."

* * *

"_Now I've had the time of my life_," Harry belted out, holding up a wooden spoon as a microphone, shaking his hips and singing along with the muggle radio.

Hermione bent over giggling as Ron continued, "_No I never felt like this before, yes I swear it's the truth and I owe it all to you." _The red-head spun around rapidly and grabbed Hermione by the waist.

"_'Cause I've had the time of my life and I owe it all to you," _Hermione half laughed and half sang out.

The three began to dance around the table, shaking their hips and waving their arms as they moved. Harry waggled his butt in Hermione's direction as he poured eggs into the saucepan for an omelette and yelped when she slapped it. _"I've been waiting for so long now I've finally found someone to stand by me," _the black-haired boy called out, then held onto the counter as Hermione and Ron began to waltz around the kitchen table as he burst out laughing.

Neville wandered into the kitchen rubbing his eyes sleepily then blinked rapidly when Hermione and Ron twirled past him singing at the top of their lungs.

". . .What the hell are you doing?"

Harry laughed and beckoned him over from where he was popping bread into the toaster. "Its our early morning exercise," he told the other boy. "Preparation for the day ahead my fine friend. We put a silencing spell around the room so that we wouldn't wake up anybody else."

Hermione spun towards them then and only barely managed to catch herself on the counter before she fell. Her face was flushed, her hair frizzy and she looked deliriously happy.

Neville shrieked when he was suddenly yanked back into his boyfriends arms and Ron began to twirl him around the room.

"_You're the one thing, I can't get enough of," _Harry and Hermione sang out as the two boys began to two a dangerous salsa that Harry was sure Ron had learnt from Fred and George.

Still singing, the two friends began to finish off breakfast, bumping their hips against each others as they did so with a lot of hair tossing from Hermione. Dodging the still vigorously dancing couple, they set the table and placed the food down. Walking to the door and narrowly avoiding hitting Neville as the boy was dipped down by his boyfriend, Harry held up a plate of food and wafted the smell up the stairs with his hand. The telltales signs of feet hitting the floor had him grinning and returning to kitchen.

Shortly afterwards Draco, Blaise and Theo entered the room and Harry pointed his wand at the radio to turn it off. Picking up a slice of buttered toast, he nibbled on the edge of it. Now that there was nothing to take his mind off of it, his worry about Remus and the full moon to come that night return in two fold. He felt his breath catch in his throat as a panic attacked began to ensue and turned away from every one else to hide his distress. He took a deep gulp of coffee as he tried to relax and after a few minutes his heart rate slowed down and breathing was easier.

It was easy to feel the tension in the room behind all the laughing and joking at the table. Not a minute passed by without someone glancing at the towards the door. Sirius and Remus had yet to emerge from their room and it was doubtful that anyone of them had missed the cries of pain or pacing that occurred during the earlier hours of that morning.

As they were all finishing up and Theo and Blaise had begun to collect the dishes, Sirius entered the kitchen looking exhausted. There were deep circles under his eyes that were bloodshot and his hair was in complete disarray.

Draco quickly filled him a cup of coffee and brought it to where he had collapsed in one of the chairs by the table. He took it gratefully and drank it in one go, finishing with a blissful sigh. The blond took it and refilled it without being asked.

"How is he?" Blaise ventured to ask.

Sirius sighed and rubbed a hand over his eyes. "Not so good," he admitted. "He was up most of the night pacing. His bones are aching pretty badly this month. Thank Merlin we have the Wolfsbane or I don't know what we'd do. How's it coming along anyway?" He directed his question at Theo and Draco.

"We've had it stewing for the past four days and it should be ready now," Draco said. "We just need to add the tentacular leaves and will bring it right up to him."

Sirius nodded then grinned slyly at Theo. "How was your date last night, my son?"

Everyone laughed when Theo turned fuchsia. He stuck out his tongue at them but laughed along with them. "It was. . .wonderful."

He hid his face behind his hands when Harry and Ron wolf-whistled loudly. Sirius stood and deposited his cup in the sink and brought Theo close to him in a one-armed hug. "I'm glad kiddo," he whispered in his ear then kissed him on the top of the head.

"I'm going back up to Remus, try to keep out of mischief," he told them, yawning afterwards.

"Do you want us to bring up any food?" Harry asked in concern.

Sirius shook his head. "Not at the moment anyway. Remus wouldn't be able to keep anything down and I'm too worked up to eat."

He left then with Draco and Theo following close behind to go to the basement where they had their makeshift potions laboratory. Theo immediately went over to the check the potion while Draco opened the ingredients cupboard to take out the tentacular leaves that Neville had harvested for them.

"Is it ok?" Draco inquired, returning with the small vials of carefully crushed leaves. He didn't even want to think of what might happen if the potion had gone wrong somewhere along its making.

Theo quickly dispelled his fears. "Its perfect. Molten yellow and bubbling at the moment. Perfect and disgusting, just the way we need it."

Draco chuckled and opened the vial carefully, standing away at a safe distance he tipped the leaves into the cauldron then closed his eyes at the bright explosion of light that burst from it. They peered in and sighed in relief at the thick, dark yellow substance bubbling in the cauldron.

"I'll turn on the heat," Draco told Theo. "You stir."

A few minutes later they were both settled at the desk, Theo carefully turning the ladle in the cauldron counter clock-wise.

"So," the blond began, "last night went well did it?"

The other wizard smiled softly at the thought of Embry. "Yeah, really well. He took me to a lovely Italian restaurant and he," Theo paused for a minute, looking embarrassed before continuing in a whisper, "he kissed me at the end of the night.

Draco smirked at the happy, dreamy look in his brother's eyes. "I take it that you enjoyed it then."

The other boy nodded enthusiastically. "It was lovely." He lowered his eyes and blinked rapidly. "I didn't think that after him. . . that any man would ever want to be with me again but-"

"Wait," his brother interrupted looking surprised, "Embry knows about what happened to you?"

Theo nodded shakily. "He guessed. He said he just. . . knew. And he didn't seem to care that I'm not. . ."

The brunet startled when Draco suddenly grabbed the hand that wasn't stirring the potion and held on tight. "Theo, you deserve to be loved just as much if not more than anybody else because of what happened to you. What he did was unforgivable but this now can show you that what he did will not haunt you for the rest of you life, because you won't let it. Understand?"

Theo giggled at Draco's fierce tone and nodded. With one last squeeze to Theo's hand, the blond let go and returned to monitoring the heat under the potion. After a few moments of silence the young Malfoy cleared his throat and casually inquired, "So did he say anything about Seth?"

Biting his lip to hold in a laugh, Theo answered back coolly, "Seth? We were on a date, why would he be talking about Seth?"

Draco shot him an annoyed look. "I know but. . . did he say anything at all. . ."

The timer for the end of stirring the potion went off and Theo removed the ladle. Summoning a goblet from one of the cupboards Theo began to pout the potion in with the ladle. "He said plenty of things. We were trying to get to know each other after all."

Putting a stasis charm on the cauldron, Theo began to clear up and ignore the silently fuming blond behind. Just as he was about to climb the stairs with the potion in hand, the wizard turned around to face his scowling brother.

"He did mention that Seth hadn't been able to stop talking about you since that day on the beach," Theo grinned at the shocked look on Draco's face then ran up the stairs.

Waiting until he was sure Theo was gone, Draco fist pumped the air vigorously, a luminous smile spreading over his face. Settling down after a minute he smoothed back his hair and straightened his clothes. Before walking calmly up the stairs to join the rest of his family.

* * *

Sirius hummed a Weird Sister's song as he slowly stroked his husband's hair. He was leaning back against the pillows propped up against the headboard of their enormous bed with Remus' head in his lap. The werewolf's face was buried in his mate's stomach and he let out small whimpering noises every few minutes that had Sirius' heart wrenching.

The animus pressed a gentle kiss to his mate's sweaty forehead and the man gave him a pained smile that had Sirius blinking back tears.

"Tired," Remus croaked hoarsely.

"I know baby," Sirius choked out, stroking his mate's face. "Just a little longer until all this is over."

"Until next month," the werewolf whispered, stiffening as his body was wracked with more pains.

"Shush," Sirius soothed him, holding his hand as he rode out the pains.

Remus gasped and collapsed against in his mate when the burning pain in his bones finally eased off. A knock came at the door then and after receiving a nod from Remus, Sirius called for them to come in.

Theo and Draco quietly opened the door and slipped inside, their other siblings hovering behind them waiting anxiously to see how Remus was.

"We brought the Wolfsbane." Theo held up the smoking goblet and Remus groaned as his sensitive nose caught the disgusting smell.

Sirius chuckled and held out a hand for the potion. "Yes, I know its disgusting but open wide, hold your nose and drink fast."

With Sirius and Draco's help, Remus managed to struggle into a sitting position and reluctantly opened his mouth for Sirius to pour in the vile potion. Grimacing at the taste, the werewolf swallowed it down and stuck his tongue out.

"Yuck," he groaned. "It tastes worst every time."

Hermione cautiously entered the room then with a bottle of water which Remus took gratefully.

"We brought you sleeping and pain potions as well," Theo said, holding up the two vials.

Remus shook his head. "Not yet. Maybe later. When it gets worse."

Theo shuddered at the thought of the pain getting any worse when he could already see how much Remus was hurting. How was it that someone as monstrous as _him _and his pack never suffered before the full moon at all but someone as wonderful and kind as Remus was, was wracked with agony.

Hermione burst into tears when Remus eyes rolled back and he spasmed in Sirius' lap.

She buried her face in Draco's shoulder who patted her back comfortingly, looking extremely upset himself.

"Mione," Remus mumbled, reaching out a hand to her, which she took immediately. "Don't be so upset. You know that this happens every month."

"It doesn't make it any better," she sobbed. "I hate seeing you suffering so much."

His other children nodded and Remus exchanged a sad glance with his partner before patting the bed beside him. "Ok, everybody up."

It seemed that the Black-Lupin children had only been waiting for an invitation because they all happily rushed into the room and clambered up onto the bed, being extra careful not to jostle or harm Remus as they did so. With the two men in the middle of the bed, the teenagers soon sprawled out around them snuggling into each other and into Remus and Sirius to get comfortable.

"Good thing you decided on such a big bed," Remus murmured to his husband, eliciting chuckles from those who heard him.

Within minutes, Draco had summoned the huge plasma screen from downstairs and his House boxset and was fixated on episode fourteen of season one. With his head cushioned on Harry's stomach the blond engrossed himself in his series while everyone else began to talk about the meeting with the Cullens the night before.

"They seem pretty alright for bloodsuckers," Ron said thoughtfully. "I think the lack of feasting on human blood had made them less insane than their counterparts."

"And they truly don't drink human blood?" Remus asked, almost incredulously.

Sirius shook his head with a bemused smile. "Nope. Their eyes are pure gold. Carlisle told me himself that he hasn't drank human blood since shortly after he was turned."

"Rosalie told me she's never drank it," Draco piped up, his eyes never straying from Dr. House as he went on one of his long medical rambles that the blond didn't understand but found fascinating all the same.

"That's incredible," Hermione breathed, having followed the conversation devotedly and everyone could see her hand itching to take notes. "The will power she would need to restrain herself would be incredible. I'd love to meet her."

"That shouldn't be a problem," a grinning Harry said. "Rosalie, Esme and Alice really want to meet you. I think they want to take you shopping or something."

Hermione's face lit up. "That would be wonderful. Not that I don't love you all but being surrounded by boys all the time can be a bit. . ."

"Frustrating?" Harry offered.

"Illuminating?" guessed Neville.

"Makes you want to bang you head against the wall?" Ron inquired.

"Too much," Hermione finished looking at them in amusement.

"What about me?" Blaise pouted at her. The only girl of the group leaned forward to kiss her boyfriend. "I never have too much of you."

"Parents in the room," Sirius declared loudly, looking anywhere but at their locked lips. "Public displays of affection not happening."

The teens chuckled and Harry nudged Theo. "We might have to get used to more displays of 'affection' soon, eh Theo?"

The brunet flushed and pushed his brother who tumbled off the edge of the bed with a 'oomph' and left Draco wondering where his pillow had suddenly disappeared too.

"I'm not sure you can talk Harry," Sirius laughed as Harry climbed back on the king-sized bed. "I saw you and that Jake boy laughing together that day on the beach."

Harry blushed furiously under his siblings teasing.

Remus growled. "What boy? I'm not sure if I like all these boys coming onto my sons."

"Then you probably won't be happy to hear about Draco's little admirer either," Ron laughed.

Draco, who was giving the appearance he wasn't listening to their conversation in the slightest, sunk down slightly in the bed as the tips of his ears turned pink. After lecturing both Harry and Draco for about ten minutes, Remus' took a sharp breath and gritted his teeth as pain flared up his spine. He was successful in holding in a cry only for a few seconds before it escaped, terrifying Theo and Hermione who were cuddled into his side.

"Blaise, pass me the potions," Sirius called to the boy closes to the bedside table where the potions had been put down. They were quickly handed to him and he coaxed the werewolf into opening his mouth.

Pouring the potions down quickly he held Remus' mouth closed and massaged his throat to get him to swallow. After a few minutes of shivering the werewolf's body relaxed and he fell into a deep sleep. Sirius sighed in relief and kissed his husband's lips softly. "Sleep Remus," he whispered. "Just sleep."

Nervous and restless about the night ahead, the young wizards and witch settled back down around their guardians and slowly one by one they drifted it off. They would need all the sleep they could get to keep up with a werewolf exploring his new home.

* * *

"There now Remus," Sirius spoke calmly. "One step at a time."

He and Ron were half-walking, half-carrying Remus out of the house and down to the forest at the end of the garden. A few days before Harry and Blaise, the most powerful ward casters in the family, had created a series of complex wards around a large area in the forest starting at the back garden and moving for several miles into the forest.

The wards prevented any humans or large animals from getting inside the circle and would give Moony a large area of woodland to hunt in and mark as his own territory.

Remus moaned as the two carrying him had to climb over some rocks, his body jostling at the movement.

"Sirius, why is he so bad this month?" Theo asked fearfully, glancing at Remus' pale complexion. "He isn't usually this bad."

Sirius grunted as he and Ron come to a stop and carefully placed Remus against a tree, making sure he was as comfortable as possible before turning back to Theo.

"Its because of the move," the animagus sighed. "Moony knows that we aren't at Hogwarts or anywhere remotely similar. He anxious because he doesn't know if this new place is safe for us or not yet. Once he's marked his territory and checked the place out, he should be better next month."

They all nodded in understanding and Harry glanced up at the sky where the very last sliver of sun was disappearing.

"You'd better head back," Sirius told Draco and Theo who glanced up the sky as well and nodded. "Make sure to stay inside and lock all the doors."

Blaise and Harry waited until their brothers had crossed the boundary of the forest before waving them off and pulling up the strongest wards they could muster.

Sirius took another look at the sky and his eyes widened when he spotted the moon creeping over the trees of the forest.

"Transform," he yelled at them. "Now."

Harry quickly tucked his wand into his back pocket, closed his eyes and began to change. He felt the strange, tingling sensation spread through his body as the transformation began to take place. His body rapidly began to shrink and fur grew out of his body as well as a tail. Within seconds it was over and Harry opened his eyes, blinking blearily as he adjusted to his height difference and his change in eyesight.

It was clear from the moment he opened his eyes that Remus was already in the midst of his transformation. His body was twisting and turning as he screamed in anguish. The moon beamed down on them through the gaps in the trees, taunting and mocking them with the pain it was causing someone they loved so dearly.

Remus's back arched as it and his limbs stretched grotesquely It made Harry want to run over and comfort him, but he could see Padfoot standing beside him licking his face and whimpering to the werewolf. With a final yell of pain, their guardian's transformation was complete and Moony lay panting in the middle of the clearing, his breath causing fog to appear in the air due to the cold of the night.

Padfoot whined and nudged Moony carefully with his nose. The werewolf opened one golden eye and growled before rising slowly on shaky legs, It wasn't long before he found his footing and was standing over ten feet tall, sniffing the ait warily. After a few seconds he turned to Padfoot and approached him slowly, still a bit uneven while walking.

The werewolf sniffed his mate, then after growling happily he licked his mate's neck and bit it gently to insert his dominance. The black dog quickly rolled over on his back and presented his vulnerable stomach in submission and barked cheekily. Moony rolled his eyes, but growled at his mate to get up again.

Turning his attention to his cubs standing at a slight distance, Moony prowled forwards and had each of them bear their stomachs, indicating that they knew he was alpha and licked them thoroughly in reward when they did.

Harry's face scrunched up when Moony's long tongue licked the side of his head making his fur stand up on end. He huffed indignantly at his wolf guardian and shook his head to straighten his fur. The huge wolf huffed out a laugh and then turned back to Padfoot. Raising his head up to the full moon, Moony gave a long, deep howl and after a second Harry and Padfoot followed suit while Blaise and Ron gave out loud roars.

With a slight turn of his head indicating that they should follow him, Moony took off at a run eager to explore his new surroundings and insure they were safe for his pack.

Padfoot and Ron followed close behind them with Hermione hanging on to the lion's back. Blaise loped along after them at a sedate pace while Harry brought up the rear, struggling to keep up with the rest of them on his shorter legs.

However, Moony never let any of the pack be left behind. He stopped at particular intervals to mark his scent along the trees and Padfoot did the same to a lesser extent. Blaise on the other hand took every opportunity they stopped to tear the barks of trees up with his claws. Harry was just glad that no human would be walking along there. He was doubtful that there were many Asiatic bears in Northern America.

After several hours of running through the forest and marking his territory, making sure that every other animal knew he was now in charge of this part of the forest the werewolf stopped for a rest in the clearing. Moony barked at his cubs to remain there while he and Padfoot went hunting for something to eat.

Ron rolled over on his back and roared out a yawn, his tail thumping against the ground languidly. The small red panda that Hermione was at the moment had jumped off his back just in time and was now scuttling across the leaves and branches towards her temporarily bear-boyfriend. Blaise was lounging against one of the trees and chewing languidly on a tree branch. He glanced down when Hermione clambered up on top of his stomach and stole some of his leaves to nibble one. The big, brown bear woofed out a laugh and Hermione squeaked at him as she curled up on his chest to be more comfortable while he was eating.

Harry tried to find a comfortable hollow in the bottom of a tree to rest in until his guardians came back but every time he found one he immediately became restless. He'd get up and go to the next one he found only to feel even more unsettled in that one.

Whimpering softly, the little black fox scrambled out of his latest den and kicked leaves backwards into in disgust. Ron turned his head to the side and growled questioningly. Harry merely sniffed and turned his back to his siblings and set off at a trot for one of the spaces in the trees. He barked reassuringly when his brothers and sister made noises of protests and assured them that he was only going to explore a bit and wouldn't wander too far.

His head bent to the ground, nose whuffling at the different scents attached to the leaves and grass, Harry ambled around the forest without paying any attention to where he was going. Attracted by the smell of rabbits, the artic fox set off at a run, tongue hanging out to one side as he joyfully followed the trail.

Reaching the burrow he eagerly dove into it, terrifying the resting rabbits within who leapt out at the other side of the burrow as he barked at them. Harry chased them excitedly having no intention of actually capturing them and eating them but enjoying the chase anyway.

Panting, he paused after a half an hour of sprinting after one particular rabbit who seemed to realise he wasn't going to eat her, and would stop every so often to glance back at him, thump her foot on the ground and then run off again in a different direction.

Harry slumped down on the ground exhausted and let his paws hang out limply on either side of him. He watched the clouds pass over the moon overhead and his ears flickered when a loud howl pierced the night. It was definitely a wolf's howl, but it didn't sound anything like Moony. It sounded more like an actual wolf than a werewolf and Harry stirred nervously.

He was no match for an actual wolf in his current size and Moony would be furious, whether in a human mind or not, if he smelt a human in his newly marked territory so left out transforming back into his original form. Standing up on all fours again, Harry peered into the darkness, his eyesight allowing him to see much further in the dark than it did while he was a human.

Relaxing slowly, when he couldn't see anything moving anywhere close by Harry made to turn back, certain that Remus and Sirius would have returned to the clearing by now and were probably furious, when another scent caught his attention.

Sniffing once, then again more deeply Harry whipped around to get more of it. It was the most delicious thing he had ever smelt as both a human and a fox. Earthy, musky and completely feral it had Harry completely entranced and without realising it, his feet began to move in the direction it was coming as his nose whiffed at the air.

He realised almost straight away that the scent was all over the part of the forest he was in. On the trees, the branches, the leaves on the ground, the huge rocks placed covered in moss and ivy.

So fascinated by the smell, the little fox only barely realised that he was about to crossover the boundary line of the wards he and Blaise had set up before he stopped himself. Tempted as he was to just give in, run across the boundary line and continued to follow that scent to wherever it led, Harry knew that it was a very bad idea.

Out there he had no protection and while he was overly capable of defending himself, he didn't want to need to attack anyone or anything. Whining in annoyance, the artic fox turned back and began to trot back the way he had came, following his own smell to find his way back. He attempted to put the scent to the back of his mind but was only slightly successful and memory of it niggled at him constantly.

Harry winced when he heard a furious growl come from up ahead and his ears flattened back against his skull. Well, that couldn't be good. It either meant that Moony was back and had realised he was missing or. . . no, there was no other possibility. Moony knew he was missing and he was in big trouble.

Tail tucked between his legs, Harry crawled into the clearing his stomach nearly flat against the ground and his eyes lowered. He knew the minute Moony had spotted him because of the ear-splitting snarl the werewolf released.

The black fox flinched and lowered his head even more until his chin was butting the ground. He could feel the vibrations through his paws when the ground moved as Moony sprinted towards him. He didn't dare look up even when the werewolf stood towering over him, not wanting to appear disobedient.

Moony's mouth lowered and Harry shivered as the warmth breath blew over him. He could sense that the werewolf was inspecting his body, making sure he was uninjured and he held as still as possible for it. Once his guardian was satisfied that his cub was unhurt, he licked Harry clean of all the dirt and leaves he had gathered on his traipse through the wood.

The animagus bared the indignity of being washed clean silently, and only yelped once when Moony gave him a reprimanding nip on the tail as a punishment for wandering off. Finished with cleaning his cub, the werewolf picked Harry up by the skin of his neck and walked back to the other animal waiting for hem at the other side of the clearing.

Miserably, Harry tucked his tail and legs into his body and ignored his sniggering siblings and godfather. He doubted that Moony planned on putting him down anytime soon in case he ran off again. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Draco swung his legs idly as he gazed lazily out the window in the sitting room, sitting on the cushioned window seat. He hummed a song he had heard Harry singing that morning.

A loud howl that sounded from outside had him opening his eyes a bit wider and peering out into the dark. Even though he knew he wouldn't be able to see anything, he couldn't prevent the reaction to try and catch a glimpse of some of his family.

"Do you think they're ok?" Theo asked and the blond turned to look at him. The boy was hanging upside down on the couch and reading a book.

Draco shrugged and turned back to staring out the window. "I hope so," he answered quietly. "I hated seeing Remus in so much pain today. I've never seen him like that on any other full moon."

The other boy frowned and blew at the curl that had fallen into one of his eyes. "I use to wish that any werewolf would suffer unbearable agony every time they changed."

His comment made the other boy smirk. "I don't blame you after the time you spend with that bunch of monsters. I'd wish a hell of a lot worse on them."

Theo grinned at his brother, then shook his head slowly, his smile fading. "I would give anything to take Remus' lycanthropy away. To stop him suffering like this."

The blond hummed but didn't say anything, his eyes following the full moon as it moved across the dark sky. He sighed, his breath fogging up the glass and he began to draw aimlessly in the mist that covered the window.

"Bored?" Theo's amused voice drifted over to him.

"Incredibly so," Draco drawled.

"I'm sorry you had to stay here with me."

The other wizard lifted his head and scowled at his brother. "Don't be stupid. You know someone needs to stay with you every full moon and I chose to this time."

"Yeah, but you could be out there-"

"-in the freezing cold? In case you didn't notice I'm not a little snow fox or whatever Harry is, I'm a snake and snakes despise the cold." He stood up from the window seat and stretched his arms above his head. His jumper rode up, revealing a strip of pale, flat abdomen. "I'd much rather be here beside the fire."

Draco dropped down beside the fire and curled up rubbing his hands together, which Theo noticed with concern were nearly blue with the cold. He dropped down beside his brother and grabbed one of his hands in his own, shivering at how cold they were.

"Merlin! Are you always this cold?"

Draco looked sheepish and grinned weakly. "Usually only at night time and during the winter. That's why I loved the summer so much, because its so much warmer. I have to cast heating charms on my bed every night so that I don't wake up as an icicle in the morning."

Theo burst out laughing and looked curiously at the Slytherin who was gazing at the fire longingly. On a spur of the moment decision, Theo closed his eyes and quickly transformed into his animagus form.

Glancing back, Draco's eyes widened in surprise and then amusement. "Something you want to tell me Theo?"

The huge tiger merely growled softly and shuffled closer to cuddle into the wizard. The blond laughed and then lay down and huddled back into his brother, sighing at the blissful warmth the tiger emitted. He chuckled when a large paw curled across his abdomen and before long he found himself drifting off to sleep his last thoughts focused on his absent family and hoping that they were still safe.

* * *

Hey everyone! Sorry, for such a long wait but school work got in the way! Anyway, that was the newest chapter of A Curious Nature and I hope that everyone enjoyed it!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed because they always inspire me to write faster. Oh and I'd just like to give a big "Woohoo", because Branwen777 is back in business! Yes! ;)


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